Mediocre?? Nah!!

There is this Brijwasi man, who serves us water on lunch and dinner table. Must be around 30. And he does such menial jobs for we 20 something chaps. I observe him daily. He appers to me one real good-at-heart guy. Why then he has to live such a life where respect and prestige are something that he will never be able to achieve at his workplace? Why is it that his children will never be able to mention their father's occupation with pride? Why is it that he will have to take orders from people much younger than him? Why is is that he will remain poor all his life unless some exceptional circumstances are created? ANd why is it that there is every possibility that his children will end up in circumstances similar to him because with his meagre salary, all they will receive is poor quality education? I wonder what would be his sense of self-esteem. He is what he is today because he was born in a poor family where emphasis was not laid on education.

I go to syndicate bank and see the atmosphere there. I shiver at the prospect of having to work in such a place. But there are people who have been working at that very place since years and will continue to work there for many more years to come. Are they doing it out of choice? No. They are doing it because they do not have an option. If they were capable enough, would not they ,in stead, be in the higher echelons of some hing profile bank?

I have a friend. A great human being. Good at heart, Helpful. Is never harsh with anyone. But alas, he is not academically very bright. Managed an average score in his XII standard. He is today in a B grade engineering college studying in a not-so-lucrative branch of engineering. His college does not have an impressive infrastructure to boast of. His knowledge of computers is limited. His fluency with English is not exactly praise worthy. His institute does not have good campus placements. His colleagues are not very bright and ambitious. In brief, he is receiving sub standard education wherein he is not being given enough opporunities for his development. When he enters the job market, he is surely going to have a tough time. Does this mean that my friend will be an addition to the tribe of mediocres?

Mediocre - this is a terrifying word. All the instances I mentioned above are evidences of mediocricity forced upon individuals due to circumstances. I fret at the thought of ending up as a mediocre -Just another one among thousands. Nothing unique about me. Nothing exceptional. Earning a 5 figue salary in an 8 to 5 job. Everyday doing the same work, No element of challenge. Work -> marriage -> kids -> education of kids -> marriage of kids -> Death. Leaving the world as inconspicuosly as I entered it. No difference made to any one's life. I become a past and then things go on as usual.

The reasons for medicricity could be many - lack of opportunities, adverse circumstances, personal follies or misfortune. But in many cases, people end up as mediocre out of choice, though one might not realize this. Every 20 something human being is ambitious. But once in to the big, bad world, one realizes that dreaming was the easiest part. Bringing the dreams to reality is one hell of a task. And soon, one starts compromising with oneself. In stead of doubling efforts, one starts trying to be contented with what one has. With the passage of time one is so much afraid of taking risks that in stead of progress, the entire focus is on maintaining the status-quo. Compromising with one's dreams is the sure shot way to mediocricity. That is why George Bernard Shaw said:"the reasonable man adapts himself to the world. The unreasonable man persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all the progress depends of the unreasonable man."

Ruthless ambition is not what I advocate. But there has to be a purpose in life beyond having a happy family and a stable income. I know that peace of mind is more important than material pleasures. The Brijwasi man might be the happiest person on earth. It is indeed possible to live a blissful life even in extreme penury. But only when you are looking at yourself in isolation. When there are lives associated with you, you have to be materialistic. What wrongs did that dreamy-eyed beautiful girl, who married you, commit that she, along with you and because of you, was relegated to a life of mediocricity? Why, because of you, should your child be denied the best education or the best of the opportunities for his development? And how about going beyond your family and looking at the society? Won't it be great if we could rise so much in our professional lives that we could contribute to the welfare of the lesser-privileged sections of the society?

One day, as I was talking to one of our faculty members about DA-IICT student community, he told me a very pointful statement: "250 is quite a large number. It is easy to get lost in such a large batch". very true. We have been witnesses to our smart friends getting lost in the competition. If 250 is large, what about the 1 billion population of India and the 6.something billion of this world? As of now, We are all a needle in a haystack, or perhaps an atom in this universe! Today we are a non-entity but that does not matter so much because a better part of our lives is yet to be lived. But when the final calling comes, let us not be an also-ran!

Margaret thatcher once said "A man riding a bus (to work) at age 26 may count himself a failure"? I roger that. I have 4 more years!!