Padoge likhoge hoge nawab, kheloge kudoge hoge kharab' - a sentence which almost every Indian child has heard from his parents. Doing well in studies is the cheapest and cost-effective bet in India towards ensuring a secured future for a child. But given the population size and reservation system prevalent, is it really a safe bet anymore? Answer is a big NO.
During initial days, most parents do indulge their children in extra-curricular activities like dance, painting, music etc but after a point of time, slowly all these things take a backseat. The child goes to a school where a good 15 hrs is spent, leaving no time to indulge in anything else except homework, dinner and sleep. Once they grow up, they are forced into mainstream education based on subjects they scored maximum in. But can everyone get into IIT/NIT, can everyone crack medical exam, can everyone score in high 90s in CAT? NO. This list can be a lot bigger but for sake of simplicity, let's limit ourselves to these only. Assuming, people are somehow able to achieve this as well, but what about the next hurdle - reservation. Reservation based on religion, caste eats into the seats available at these temples of education. For e.g. when my niece tried getting admission in NIFT, we were amazed to see that only 10% seats were available for the general category in her religion! Just 10%? This automatically translates into ensuring that one needs to be amongst top-10 or so in their exams to even stand a chance for a seat. And let's not forget the education fees are only increasing day by day. Education is a big market today. Point to be noted - maximum hoardings available on roads are those of local politicians and private educational institutes and not of our sport stars (ex. cricketers), artists.
Rationale to having a secured future is to earn respect in society, get married, have kids and follow the same vicious cycle again. I believe peer pressure plays a big role in parents forcing their children to become good in studies only. Most of the times we measure our success from the eyes of the society. That same society which is always there to give words of wisdom to others but nothing to apply on themselves. And last but not the least, the teachers in their school. During school days, by God's grace I was fortunately involved in extra-curricular activities like football, theatrics & athletics meets as a participant and an organiser of school's events. But participation in these events was never seen in good taste by a large section of teachers. Students like me were subject to a second-class treatment by them, if permitted they would have probably handed over a certificate of 'good for nothing' to us. They did not realise that not everyone has the acumen to mug up texts, not everyone will have an interest in their subject rather many may not even have an interest in studying at all. But sadly, all that was never considered. Back home, I was subject to constant scrutiny and comparisons with my neighbours who were good in studies. But when I look back at those days I feel happy and content that I was just not engrossed in studies, yes I did have a school life apart from studying.
With the growing population and unemployment, I put my bet on indulging our Gen Z into extra-curricular activities to ensure a secure future. I firmly believe that indulging in extra-curricular activities can go a long way to solve this unemployment problem in India. Extra-curricular does not only mean playing cricket or being an actor. It means every sport in which India is lagging behind others, every form of art which had been the forte of our culture but now lost in history. Question yourself, why India with a population of 1.25Bn is not able to produce a XI good enough to even qualify for FIFA WC and on the other side Croatia (a country with a population of only 4.5Mn) made it to the finals of FIFA WC'18. Why Jamaica with a population of only 2.9Mn has consistently got a medal count in double-digits in track & field and we as a nation are yet to win a medal in this category. Agreed not everyone can feature in the Indian football squad, not everyone can be a Usian Bolt/Michael Phelps but our representation at last summer Olympics was not encouraging as well. Indian athletes accounted for only 1% of total participants as opposed to a whopping 17.5% share in world population! Even joining mainstream politics is an excellent career option. With ageing population of our national political leaders, young blood (not just dynasty) is required to step in and take the country forward. Being part of the decision making and shaking up the administrative system is also the need of hour. Joining the defence forces can be the most respectable profession a citizen can achieve. Last but not the least, becoming entrepreneurs and helping provide employment to others.
Coming from a Marwari family, it is said business is in my blood. A basic skill required in business is risk acumen. In life too, one cannot escape risk, it can only be managed to be reduced to minimal. I pledge to do my bit by ensuring that my kids (whenever they arrive) will have a free hand in choosing and following their dreams - poursuis tes reves.
