They need you!

So, vacations are here finally? With the advent of these short-lived holidays, begins the season of social networking! Suddenly your timeline experiences a downpour of Awwwwws, superlikes, status updates, check-in’s, hourly change of display pictures while testing of the camera in front of a mirror and memes! While all of this is definitely fun and funny, we could definitely make a lot more out of these days by clicking on links that tells you which profession you belong to according to your birth date or feeding our curiosity of who has viewed your profile in the last 48 hours by spamming their timelines!

Or we could also do something like volunteering/working for some really good NGO’s/non-profit organisations who are trying to bring about some change that we generally talk about being impossible in a country like ours, we could contribute our bit rather than blaming the government for being inefficient, we could help the less privileged by teaching them rather than throwing statistics about how illiterate our country is, we could plant a few trees rather than sharing photos demonstrating the need for a greener planet, we could enjoy the company of a stray animal rather than hurling stones at them.

 

Photo courtesy: Teach for India.

I know, some might find this as a value education lecture on an ideal student’s vacation, but sorry, this is not. I certainly feel that there are a lot of people out there who genuinely feel for the problems that we are facing, and who wish to be a part of the change process, this post is for them, and also for those who are not, but have taken the pains to read this post. This is for the 430 million and counting young population of our country, which consists of 430 million agents of change, and have the ability and the desire (well, in most cases) to live in a better country.

With this thought in mind I have, along with a friend of mine, Manasi Ghogare started a page called iShare on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/ishare.mumbai) which is an attempt to bridge the gap between the youth and such organisations, by letting them know about the kind of work that these organisations do, and also post about the different volunteering/internship/job opportunities with them.

 

photo courtesy: Greenpeace India

I know not everyone wants to enter the cesspool and clean it, and its fine if you don’t want to. But all I’m saying is everyone has their own ways of helping such organisations, and we all should do our bit to not just show our support to these organisations, but at least the next time you want to blame others for the pollution, education inequality, child labour and other problems in our society, you make sure that you yourself have something to change about it.

And all it takes is a few hours a week, or a month, or even on weekends or even less. We should try and give as much to the society as much as we can, and as much as you expect from it in return. These organisations can use the most powerful capital that we have to offer them: Human capital! I would like to hereby make a humble request to all to support such organisations which work at the grassroot level in the best possible manner, and take out a few hours from their lives to do something that could benefit not just them, but you as well.

Having volunteered for quite a few organisations, I can assure you that the satisfaction that you get after doing something like this is much more than receiving compliments on your latest photo! Also do share your pictures and experiences if you’re working with any of these organisations, if nothing then you have my awwws, superlikes, shares and ❤ ❤ for sure! 😉

Thank you for reading. Happy sharing, happy caring.

Kitna deti hai?

Hi,

Firstly, thanks to all those who dared reading my first post, which has inspired me further to post another one! And special thanks to those who went beyond that, and liked/commented on the post.

So, here goes my second post, It’s more like an extension to my first one, wherein I had tried figuring out why students take up engineering (some are pushed into it!). But I’ll like to keep this as an open topic, and more relevant to everyone.

I’m sure everyone must have heard this phrase: “Kitna deti hai?” I’m not just referring to the successful ad-campaign by a leading car-maker (the possibility of the person behind the ad being a person who is fed up of the constant use of this phrase is very high), but yes, this is a very general phrase with potential applications almost everywhere. If we start paying close attention, this might even start seeming ubiquitous to us. From people asking the government about the GDP to people asking milkers about their cows’ milk delivery efficiency; from people asking battery life of their devices to students wanting to know the first thing about a company recruiting them: “Kitna deti hai?” 

Now, the last part is what we need to think about (but, sometimes it’s the battery that affects me  a bit more, but, err…anyway!). This phrase, I’m sure, must be omnipresent in colleges as soon as the placement season begins. Now, there’s certainly nothing wrong in wanting to know about the CTC’s that different companies are offering, The problem is that people look at it as the only criteria to measure one’s successful stint as a student. The problem that we look at money as the only yardstick to measure success is very, very wrong, and we shouldn’t blame someone in particular for this, but this thought process has very deep roots inside our society, which we all are a part of.

Now, this is what happens generally: Whenever parents send their kids to a particular college, the major factor while choosing one is “ROI”- Return on Investment. The kids are expected to come out with a fat pay cheque, if they want to be labelled as a “Bright student!”. This is applicable not just to graduates, but to people pursuing higher studies as well. 

The purpose of education is somewhere lost while this transformation ‘From curious souls wandering their across the fields of imagination are made to think of themselves as money minting machines’ takes place. Institutions are places where we expect students to learn, imagine, understand and explore. They should be places which should serve as an incubation center for curious minds to grow, but sadly there aren’t.

As the picture suggests: We have very little value for what curiosity can do to mankind, but we are rather interested on it’s ROI! Sorry, NASA, Pun intended!

Only when we understand that the true meaning of ‘graduating’ is a shift in the level of learning and curiosity is; and not the shift in his bank balance, will we truly care about the real-education. If and when we are able to create such an environment, will we have our share of Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerburg, Elon Musk and a thousand others in the silicon valley and similar places which help people think beyond the ordinary and make a difference. We need more students to be entrepreneurs- not because they couldn’t do anything else, not because they have a lesser CGPA, not because they are filthy rich; but, because it is important to look beyond what conventional wisdom teaches us. We also need researchers who’ll unravel the different mysteries for us, we also need a lot of thinkers- who can help in policy formation and bring about change; and lastly we need a lot of students wanting to, as Mahatma Gandhi put it: “Be the change you want to see in this world.” 

P.S. What I’ve tried to say is quoted very beautifully by Mark Twain: “I’ve never allowed college to interfere with my education”