The Bystanders

Ever noticed that whenever in a Movie, there’s a scene in some Public place, the focus is never on the public but on the Actors?? Then what are the other people doing in that scene? Why are they there? What is their purpose and what is their reason?

bystanders

Lets leave the film industry aside. Have you ever thought what it would be like to have that talent or that Father or that Level of Power in Society or that much Money?? Of course you have, we all have! We all have at some point in Life thought what it would be like to have that much money and social standing. How much easier Life would be if we were that Rich and Famous Person who is always partying or giving interviews about their Fabulous Life and how other people treat them with so much respect and always give them preferential treatment! How much fun would it be if we have already achieved what we wish to achieve and are simply sitting back and reaping the rewards.

Often, during College and even School, I used to imagine how Easy my Life would be if I were that Professional who has already achieved that Position and is just working now. How much I despised the process of going to school and how much I longed to exchange it for the process of getting up early every morning in order to go to Work! It was the satisfaction of having a boring, procedural Life which gave me comfort! It was this comfort which made me hate my Learning years, because those years were important only for growing up, not actually doing anything constructive on the work front.

I had read nearly all major interesting Management stories before Class 10th, including Shiv Khera, Who Moved My Cheese?, I Moved Your Cheese and even Murphy’s Law (Where Something Can Go Wrong, It Will !!!) !!!

All of these made me think about all the kinds of new ideas and methods I could implement once I got to that managerial position! And yet, I was not the least bit interested in going for an MBA!

Ok, enough about the reasons for this post, lets move on. So we’ve understood that all the popular stories are about the people at the centre and that Life will always take you through the boring phases before giving you the reward. So what does this teach us?? That those Bystanders have a Life of their own, a Story of their own in which they are the Heroes and They hold the central plot. In their Lives, We are the Bystanders!

Do not be a Bystander in your Own Life, take up the reins and Pull the Horse of Destiny in the Direction YOU want it to go! There is no better satisfaction that to reap the rewards only after going through the Most Boring Parts, because those parts make you realize how valuable that reward is and makes you Enjoy it! There’s no sense in skipping to the most gripping part without dragging yourself through the long, useless explanation!

You are already THAT Person! Just start being Them and see to it that the aspirations you have now are what you are holding 10 years down the line. Because That’s what makes you That person!

Here’s An Interesting Solution

The Problem I wrote about in my last post was the reservation issue which is being shoved in the face of the IITs by the Government right now. Ideologically speaking, the Government can claim that the IITs give only too less back to the Government as compared to what they get as grants. This is due to the Brain Drain. Even though a lot of Companies have started to Relocate to India to gain the benefits of cheaper labour while keeping their cream- the IITians near home and feeling happy, thereby temporarily offsetting the problem; most IITians still aim at getting jobs which immediately take them out of the country and to Foreign Shores.

Here’s a Solution I propose that the Indian Government can apply to Gain back from the IITians and IIM Grads some part of the amount of Funds that goes in their Education-

Many of us know about Compulsory Military Training which some countries insist all their fresh graduates undergo to gain a sense of Discipline and to work in teams and learn to Respect others and to Defend themselves (don’t worry, I am not asking all IITians to be sent to the Barracks)

What the Government can do is to ensure that all IIT and IIM Graduates Compulsorily work for Two Years in some part of the Government to gain experience and to ensure that the Government gain from their Knowledge and Smartness before any other Company does.

The Grads may be allowed to choose the field they wish to work in- whether the Executive, the Bureaucracy or Aid in the various development contracts around India on Important projects like Dams, Highways, Town planning etc.

This way, the Government gains as it has a continuous supply of fresh brain to apply on their problems of Development, Finance and Judiciary and the Grads gain as they get high amount of Exposure and the Experience of working in and handling Government Machinery. Maybe some of them might even like their work and be allowed to Join the Government immediately.

This will ensure that all passing Graduates from the IITs and IIMs understand and Value their Country and learn to respect it before docking on foreign shores. Meanwhile, the issue of Castes and basing reservations according to them should be done away completely as they are nothing more than Social Evils which weaken the Fabric of Indian Society. I refer to the Idea of Castes Dividing us and not to the people who comprise them.

This may not be a very viable solution but it is certainly a step towards one because many Graduates would welcome this effort to create a Government based on Intellect and Knowledge instead of Politics and Party Agendas.

Hoping that someone out there might be affected by this post.