Sunday, January 3, 2010

The 4th IDIOT

I am generally not much keen about watching bollywood movies, but since Munnabhai, have become a great fan of Rajkumar Hirani (For few of you who may not know, he was also there in the very first of Fevicol Ads “Jor laga ke….”, a slim “aam aadmi” standing and smiling). “3 IDIOTS” has been subjected to so much publicity that even I cannot avoid to know about it. And being a Hirani film, I was also looking forward to watching it.

Lot to talk on this movie. It grips you till the end. Life is just not about securing marks and trying to bag the first position in a race that has been started long back by people who make us run and run. At a point I did not really think that trying to gun the first position is wrong. Everyone wants to win. So do I. 3 IDIOTS refreshed my memories of what my school and college life was like.

My early school days were also filled with always being first in class. I was always a topper till I reached a stage when I realised there is much more in life to study. I used to read a lot of philosophy then. Being first became no more a regular affair. But I now think back and laugh at people who thought that my slipping rank on school-walls was equivalent to me going down. Thanks to my parents who were always positive on everything, I have learnt to a great extent that in life what matters the most is the respect you have. And thanks to professors who have till date been inspiration for me that life is about learning and trying out new things.

My first three semesters during engineering were also a race. Against time and against self. To hit for the 1st position again. But yes, I was pretty unconventional. I had learnt the power of “Mindmaps” way before engineering. I used them during my X and XII exams and then used them in engineering too. I was being looked upon as a genius at a point (only I knew, I wasn’t one. For then I thought I would have been in one of the IIT’s :-)) Race against time stopped after my 2rd trimester. I took up to reading a lot. I was mostly found with my books. Read biographies, read books that a lot of engineers would not even know or would not even touch. Bought myself books whenever I went out. Yes had parties, spent on food, and watches, but still loved the books so much that even if I felt I wouldn’t read them, I would buy them and bloody hoard them.

Being unconventional, going against the norms, challenging useless conformism was something that developed in me unknowingly then. My class mates were afraid of me asking continuous questions in class and that too out of the world kind of. Used to call me stupid. At times, my profs were pretty bugged coz of me bugging them a lot.

Thing I have noticed is that in engineering colleges, they don’t teach you to challenge, they teach you to conform and standardize yourself and listen to what is being said (not taught).

So this unconventional attitude remained when once I was denied, during a lab experiment, the power supply kit, and I ran to another lab and picked one and started walking, when the caretaker told me that I couldn’t possibly take it like that (mind you it was  Govt College then) and that I need to write an application to borrow it. WTH, I told him, I am taking it, ago and complain to Principal if you want to. Yeah, but this does not always remain all the time.

After being  a TCS-er for almost 3 years, am a am back to college to learn more, this time about business. Will be a holder of a degree called MBA in a couple of months from now. But the learning in these two years has been much more than just the degree.

Everyone who must have watched this movie, must have seen his/her own image somewhere there embedded. I too saw mine. May be I was reassured that being different, unconventional and absurd is not that bad. Having a thinking that is too out of the track than what the mob thinks, may not be so bad at all..

Hoping for the best.

4 comments:

Ketan said...

Yes bro...
You are absolutely right...

I agree with what you have said...oops..but i never saw myself anywhere in the movie..may be i was not so much genius..but i truly wanted to be some..ha ha aha...

I do remember the incident which you said about yourself ...

All the best for your life mate...

nitin said...

Kets, actually i believe u were one of those rare people, who was also pretty unconventional
we have spent a lot of time together and i know it

and inspite of that, u are a successful man now, and thats what matters.
genius is not being a recaller of definitions but a analyser of affairs.

if that is what u know, thats enough

sonali said...

Hey nitin,

Thats very true ...everyone is running in the race.....
but fantasy for marks had been lost during my final year of engineering and u know after that I started feeling more good, in an open environment.

Basically its your state of mind which forces you to select the path?
one for marks or the other one...?

I liked your post

nitin said...

Hey sonali, thanks for the comments...
:-)