Wasting Away …………….

I have been asked this question a lot of times. Now that I lost out on a major examination, these questions have become more frequent, rather more fervent.
The question is easy and simple-"What next Dhiraj?". A Masters from a premier institue was the prompt reply then. Now I guess and hope . . . Its still the same even if I start working. But this reply does not necessarily explain the reason for posting this on my blog. Its more than that, much more i guess. A case of self redemption i believe. Most of my batch mates (Mechanical only) in the pursuit of making a fast buck and a career out of it, dived into the IT bandwagon. Of course, there is nothing wrong in it. Individual pursuits are part of every person's personality/identity.But then what about giving it back to the place where you learnt all the tricks of the trade. If you make such a major shift, will you ever be able to give back in the same coin. No never !!! But the truth is does anybody care? Definitely no. But some of us do. I do, definitely. I met a senior from school on one of our communities(orkut) and he had a whole lot of database about lots of people from school and what they had achieved. Initially I thought It was a waste of time and was not required. But now i guess i feel it was not. It is all about your roots. Its your school and college that shape your destiny as well as your personality. When you hear someone from your school has done well, it definitely fills your heart with pride. It is the same with life, you would definitely want to look back and say "I did this, I did that". But the truth is most of us are wasting away our lives or are we??

Shifting from the philosophical point of view, let me get onto the economic and research perspective. Software companies have the highest attrition rates and thus the highest number of unsatisfied employees. The whole of India goes gaga over the IT industry. Go to a wedding and ask the bride's father "Whats the groom doing?" He is a software engineer is the unholy reply. And then he takes you out and tells you his son in law earns 40000 a month and . .. . . . . .. . . . . . .. Oh ya it does not really matter does it that his son in law might be earning all that money for just cutting and pasting a few C++ codes on the computer. Or does it matter that his daughter may not even have a sex life. (Dont glare at me you software freaks, your wives will be fast asleep when you reach home) Hey I dont care about all this either . .. It is just that my Mechanical Engineering degree and a mechanical job(Once i get it) to boot would not get me much on the marriage market. So its the wrath of jealousy, I am unleashing on you techies. On a much more serious note then why do all these bigwigs need you enginers for the coolie kelsa. Wont the MCA's be able to manage the whole coding and decoding extravaganza? Hmmm any of you techies have an answer, do reply. If you are developing a path breaking any anti virus software which will beat the Mcafee's and the Nortons, hallowed be thy name. But that is definitely what you are not doing. Software coolies or backend coolies is the most appropriate word which describes India based techies. I really wonder sometimes why the American general public goes paranoid over shifting of BPO's call centres and Technical development jobs to India.

But I guess it all boils down to money rather than your personal satisfaction. Shoot me guys thats the least you can do to prove me wrong. Because the truth as i see it (for 90% of we Indians excluding me) is MONEY IS EVERYTHING. That reminds me of an uncle of mine who came home recently and was among the few who was very supporting of my decision to stay Mechanical. He knows what he is saying i guess when he said " How many of your toppers have made it really big in life?" I guess I can give you the answer now uncle, they are wasting their lives in one of the big wig software companies doing coolie kelsa. Oh ya more on him . .Well he is a mech engineer with an MBA who is onto production and marketing of tyres with a turnover of a few crores.

I guess I am wasting away life as well, doing absolutely nothing. Waiting for something to happen, my big oppurtunity. I guess I would be waiting like all of us wait at some point in our lives. For that one chance one oppurtunity because life gives you just one chance.

Lose yourself in the music, the moment,
You better never let it go ho,
You get just one shot, one oppurtunity,
Do not miss a chance to blow ,
Because oppurtnity comes once in a lifetime go

Lose Yourself
Eminem

But I guess I would rather wait for that one chance even if it takes me all my life rather than take into the temptation of joining the backend processing IT INDUSTRY. All my batchmates who had seen me slogging my arse out for the mag and more importantly SAE or anything in school or college, have asked me why work so hard. I have only one answer. Ten years down the line when i step afoot in JCE or in my school LITTLE ROCK again or in my Pre University College CANARA. . . . Seeing SAE, Lokal boyz, Ed board in full swing . . I guess I would tell myself . .
. . . . . I was a part of SAE . . . . . .
. . . .. .I was a part of our skit team LOKAL BOYZ. . . . .
. . . . . I was a part of the editorial board . . . . . .

. . . . . I was part of that niche group of yo guys and girls in PU.. .. .
. . . . . I used to stand at the college gates checkin the birds fly home. . . . . .

. . . . . I was a part of that concert and the School Day . . . . .
. . .. . .I was up there on stage in the BEEHIVE giving a speech. . . .
. . . . . I was there in the HOSTEL doing all the HARA KIRI


In short ...................

.................... I WAS ALIVE.............