Metamorphosis

"True life is lived when tiny changes occur." - This line by Tolstoy prompts me to wonder about how my life is heading. The last few years have truly been eventful, albeit rough at times. Everything was smooth through school and college days and not a day passes without me yearning to go back to those halcyon times. Then came the trip to the US. This changed everything including my persona. I wasn't quite a different person but was subconsciously transformed into a more independent, confident individual who sought knowledge more and cared less for academic success (read grades). A struggle for over a year during the recession taught me to respect the uncertainties and vagaries of life and to stay humble. This is a lesson I have not and will never forget. Even as life was pretty much in its doldrums, I learned the value of focusing on my passion and more importantly, making the gutsy call of pursuing it. Working at Cricinfo was a pleasure and a most unforgettable experience. The joy of the game, together with the fantastic crowd and the intellectually stimulating discussions made every moment of my stay worthwhile. Nothing can come close! But then, life had to move on and I chose to pursue my MBA at ISB. I had indulged in what I loved the most for nearly three years but felt I had much more to achieve and offer.

ISB is a place respected for its diversity. After all, the students are the creme de la creme of the top colleges and companies in India. It has done a fabulous job of bringing together some of the most fascinating minds. The course structure is superb and the professors are world class. The facilities are on par with the best. Isn't everything sounding perfect? Not in my opinion. At least not so far. It might well be the case with few other top institutes too in India (based on discussions and not assumptions). What is it that plagues me then? For starters, it is an 'INDIAN' school. Now you might wonder what the hell that means. India has for long dived so deep into the sea of grades and marks that it finds it nearly impossible to think of an alternate way of measuring a student's abilities. Personally I have no issues with exams. But the very attitude of students, with tension writ large on their faces makes me ponder if it's the only way out. Every second person complains about lack of time, sleep deprivation, pressure, stress and every other problem one can envisage. Is this what one paid to go through? Wasn't it supposed to be a place one came in, learned, networked, learned more, experimented both in courses and extra-curricular activities? Why has this entire vision vanished? Why are students so hell bent on gaining the five marks even as they fail to take advantage of the amazing peer quality around them? Isn't the vision myopic to say the least? Don't the immortal words - "lose the battle, but win the war" come to mind? Why and when did acquiring knowledge cease to be the priority?

I have tried to answer these questions with varying degrees of success. Maybe my stint in the US helped. Scratch the maybe, it is surely. My outlook was altered positively. I began to think of subjects and topics very differently and realized that the best aspect of that country lay in the fact that you were respected for what you were as a person and not the qualifications, which was (and still is) the case in most parts of India. We were always taught to believe that the higher the marks, the greater the respect in society. Somehow this belief has never quite changed. One can continue to blame society till the cows come home. But introspection can be quite revealing in this regard. If each individual were to start analyzing why he/she is caught up in this vortex of grades/marks/scores/exams/tests and realizes that the only way forward is to adopt a more holistic knowledge-based approach, then society stands to gain at large. This in turn is likely to change the perception in the years to come. Easier said than done though I must say!

Quite a few professors who teach in US schools visit ISB and many of them have expressed their surprise at the academics-focused atmosphere. I don't blame them for they have not been witness to this for years now. It is sad that most students fail to leverage the extraordinary knowledge that the professors bring as most interactions end up being restricted to classroom-centric discussions. Quizzes and club events tend to record scant attendance. Interesting ideas tend to be classified as 'spam' while the real spam often goes unnoticed. The diversity in the batch at the beginning is slowly eroded as the group converges towards the mean over the year. How does this augur well for the students as well as the institute? Why should people be told or taught that a career in 'X' is better than one in 'Y'. Why not let them play to their strengths and figure out? Peer pressure, wrong guidance, ill-informed choices and most of all, a tendency to follow the herd are noticeable in most batches. Maybe it's just me though I wonder at times. Am I not changing enough to fit in? Where did the whole Roman in Rome policy go this time around?

Change is constant they say. I'd like to believe so too. But change ought to be for the better too. I have, after much deliberation, realized the right way (at least I'd like to think so) way of going about in my career and life. Money is vital but not all important. Success has no single definition. Never live life by others' rules. Ultimately, education can be valued only if one can claim to have gained knowledge and never otherwise. Studying at such an institute is a wonderful opportunity to interact with and learn from the best in the business. It is also a place where one can attempt to trace paths that are usually avoided. Most importantly, it is perhaps the final chance to forge great friendships and develop personal and professional contacts for a lifetime. Academic success is important but comes well below in the pecking order for me. At least that is the way I think nowadays. I might not have been able to prioritize the same way ten years back but am glad the metamorphosis has had a positive influence. It is hard to speculate how things are likely to be but I am hopeful the attitude around changes soon.