Brain sticks down, when Heart flies in the Air

They nurtured, taught me the right values,

Made me a man out of a boy,

Rose up high, out of the shallows

Of deep down-trodden scum.

Thoughts were carved on the mind so bold,

Now when heart tries to fly,

Brain sticks down, still old…

Books said these were the best of all,

The morals you learn will save you from a fall,

Stepping out into this very real world,

Shy are the books, for every single word.

My mind’s engaged in sorting out things,

Brain-- still way within,

Yet the heart feels no worry in moving ahead,

Ideals are bondage to it,

And all that’s already said.

The Delhi case; the prime reason.

Heart: enraged, mind: conscious and the Brain stubborn.

Blood was pumped to redden my face,

My heart strongly showed signs of its increased pace

Books, ranks, and money after all

Were flashed by the brain to give the heart a stall!

So much confused are we,

Talk of idealness when we lack real.

Sitting in a train, watching people flow,

Looking how busy could life be,

Contrast to the reel life show,

Mind takes a philosophical stance

Packs up the heart’s rage and the brain’s wants,

Like a tooth-fairy it picks up wrong,

Leaves in return a healed wound;

The scar wouldn’t last long...

Your mind matters...

Face whitens, not of death.

Wants diminish, not the passion.

The reason requires conscience,

Rather than anger,

‘Ideals in a real world’… can’t be stranger!

Reach out for the perfect, while living through the real,

Heart would fly up, and brain stick down,

Situations may grab you, confuse you,

Yet… the Brilliant Mind would never let you down…

The Stolen Years (II)

While writing the first part of 'The Stolen Years', I didn't know that I would go on to write the second. But then, you see, how vast is the issue! Living in that atmosphere makes me find, wherever I see, the same situation. Recently I had been to Airoli for an entrance test. It was yet again an engineering entrance test. The level wasn't that high, regarding the difficulty of questions. Moreover there was another factor on which, nowadays, the difficulty of an exam depended. It was an easy analysis! If there exists any kind of coaching for an exam then consider it to have good standards, in terms of questions, competition and repute of the institute. I hadn't found many institutes teaching for VITEEE, yet there were few odd ones out of the crowd. The test was a quite easy one but my head ached badly due to continuous exposure to a computer screen. My dad and I headed to the station and waited for the train.

At the station, also at many others which I had noticed while arriving at Airoli, were numerous banners of coaching institutes, shouting out there results saying 1,2,3,4.. rankers were from this n this institute, 'we teach success' and stuff. I enjoyed reading these slogans or what you would call 'taglines', most of them were quite interesting! You too might enjoy some,

-Our results are results of our intentions!

-We create champions!

-A nourishing ground for future IITians and Doctors!

-Because success is yours!

-Pioneering scientific learning process since 1984's! (OMG!)

-Creating interest to work rigorously! (Thank You!)

-Where discipline is the way of life! (Is that a coaching institute?!)

-Where success is a must!

-Your search ends here! (Oh thank You!)

-Because tomorrow is yours! (Sure!)

I get to read such tags usually when I read some educational magazine. That day at the railway station I saw similar. But this one was a bit more serious. My train had yet minutes to come, so I went on reading everything on that banner. It started with a statement which disturbed me...

What would you save, money or your child's future?

 This one line somewhat enraged me and much more surprised me as to how this banner was still hanging up there?! It indirectly said, "Come, come to us parents! Pour on us the serene money you have! No, don't think of saving it, pour it all! At last we make your child's future!" It kept me thinking that how come these institutes have so much of guts to banner out such statements which could hurt feelings. Obviously guys, a parent not able to afford such a high amount will feel low as he cannot do the 'best' for his/her child. Digging deeper, we find the shining reasons, for why this prevails in India...

Reasons for these stolen years are quite basic. The most fundamental one being lack of equal respect to every occupation. We have formed a hierarchy of professions in India, rather it is present in the whole world but more prominent here. Watch any movie portraying a poor family, usually would be a farmer's. A young child would be encouraged to become an engineer or a doctor so that the same harsh conditions do not fall upon him. Escaping out of farming has been a dream for every farmer family. And then to make this escape a success, these institutes come into role! So why does every farmer want to run away from farming? Past few decades our cities have seen numerous immigrants from rural areas, such people who come in search of jobs, having lost their crop. A real life description in my English textbook speaks about it...
"Food is more important for survival than an identity. “If at the end of the day we can feed our families and go to bed without an aching stomach, we would rather live here than in the fields that gave us no grain,” say a group of women in tattered saris when I ask them why they left their beautiful land of green fields and rivers."

Migration is now common in India, rural people migrate to cities for better conditions

So it is human to migrate for survival when conditions worsen. But then cities do not promise any luxuries! Mumbai is rightly quoted as 'Mayanagari', as miracles happen here. People enter Mumbai to fulfill their dreams, some fail, some succeed. Atlast luck and money matter a lot! So we too have migrated from coaching classes to this struggling life of rural people, which clearly tells how deep rooted the problems are. A major point comes into limelight: India's developmental strategy. We have been praised as the gonna-be world's economic power. Many futurists say that India will soon develop economically. But the shoot's leaving the root. We are flying into the air so high that we are leaving our foundation.

Glancing at India's developmental process, we find a trend different from a regular seen in many now-developed countries. A general trend observed in many developed countries is that the progress was made step by step; first agriculture, then industry and then services. India had jumped onto services even when agriculture was still handicapped. We are losing a lot due to this leap. Weak agriculture sector is making everyone leave it and now the drought has worsened the conditions. I recently read a news and personally noticed that many farmers from west and central Maharashtra had migrated to cities like Mumbai and Pune. The worst part is yet to come. They were found begging at the railway stations, bus stations and other public areas. Still, the vice CM of Maharashtra talks of peeing into the dams to fill them. Strange! Stranger the fact that these issues are well knit with the one in the title! So it's like a well linked cycle of problems. Weak agriculture leads to tendency to escape, escaping out into urban lifestyle means financial stability, it requires a good job, a good job is only promised by good colleges, and to get into good colleges, yes! You can try hard alone! But there are escorts available which make your journey easier..and you join an institute!

Another point which came to my notice while talking to my friend was that too much involvement into coachings has led to negative effects on nurturing creative ideas at the +2 level. At her school, students of Class 11 refused to design a science project just because they were too busy with tests at their institutes. So what are the solutions? One big step by CBSE to combine all tests into one: JEE Main, has done no good to reduce the coaching class influence. They have moulded themselves to the change. Solution lies in our hands. More we feed them, more would they flourish. Complete dependency must be avoided. A good school must be the first preference at class 12. Juniors, you must not think that joining a good coaching institute means better future. Rather studying well must be the first aim. Remember, IITian's Pace may ask your parents whether money is important or their child's future, answer it plainly, I am important. Many others will ask for humongous fees, ask them the reason. Get every single detail about their plan, strategy, and make it sure that, if you pay, your money doesn't go in vain. Many don't know that complaints can be filed against coaching classes at the consumer forums, if the service is not felt apt. Use this feature if required. Two years are precious, I say this again, don't let anyone steal them, make them productive yourself...

The Stolen Years

Recently I gave a visit to my house at Alibag on the day of Gudi Padva. My family was with me, the trip was beautiful. The change from a busy scheduled lifestyle in New Panvel to a flexible one was awesome. Met good old friends. I had just given my engineering entrance exam, the JEE Main,so had many of my friends. A bit of load had moved away, not to empty my mind but just to give it a warm up session to welcome yet another one; the State CET and others. My mind was like making every single excuse to have a break now. This visit was a good solution. Almost after a year I had been to my house. The mangoes had grown bigger, yet bore no fruit. The neighbour's trees were bowing down due the weight of the fruits. In New Panvel, I saw them on footpaths, vendors selling them. The saying, "When you leave Mumbai, you hug nature" proved right! Yet another fact, "With nature, you are in peace, and in peace, your mind works" was gonna be true very soon...

On the day of Gudi Padwa, my dad invited his friends home, he hadn't met them for months! A small amount of snack was arranged- Samosas and Jalebis. Guests arrived, beautiful evening it was; humorous and full of joy. The evening went by, soon. Our stomachs were filled so mum decided not to make dinner and we decided to go to the beach that night. House was a bit far from the beach and thus we needed a transport. My dad's friend had left his motorcycle, in case we needed it. And yes we did! I drove my dad and then mum and bro in two trips. It was low tide then, the beach had become dirty due to the things that had washed off to the shore. Mosquitos enjoyed blood. We sat on a bench, me, mum and dad. My bro and cousin went on the sand to play. Waves enjoyed their way to the shore, one by one. Just then my father's phone rang. It was his friend. It had been a bit of practice now, that people enquired about schools to join, streams to opt and other vital decisions to take, to me. But then one more question was becoming more frequent now. My dad held the call and asked me,
"His brother's son has just given Class 10 board examinations. Now he wishes to study science further and then do engineering. Which coaching class is the best among these- Quality Circle, Vidyasagar or Vidyalankar?"
I had seen Quality Circle's board one day walking home from my own coaching institute. Vidyalankar and Vidyasagar were known to me as I had enquired about them earlier. I said Vidyalankar and Vidyasagar would be better over the other. He gave my message to his friend. Silence. Waves still found their way to the shore, one by one...
Suddenly I spoke up, "It's strange, isn't it, that we care too much about the coaching institute to join, rather asking about a school?" I sensed a debate getting birth. My mum agreed to it. My dad too. But then later they gave an explanation, "These two years are crucial, considering Indian education system. You cannot let them go easily as your future depends on how good you do now. And then, we aren't so majestic that we live on our elders money. Rather it doesn't suit our ethics that we enjoy our elders hard-earned money but become independent." But I had a doubt, "Then why not the schools? These institutes have cleverly identified the need, or the desperateness of the parents of Indian students. And then again population comes into role! So many students and so little seats! It's perfectly true that, having resources, none will leave any stone unturned so as to fix a seat in the top institutes of the country." My dad said," Yea, you're true, but then who wants to be poor? Parents commit a mistake here." Mum said, "Yes that's right, we parents mistake here. Many invest so much into coaching institutes that they forget about the education which lies beyond this period." I recalled Chetan Bhagat's Revolution 2020, Gopal's dad spends all his savings onto a coaching institute at Kota, hoping he gets a seat in IITs. The night went long, I wished to talk more. We hit more topics, very far from this small one. Waves now silently were conquering the shore ahead. The sand was wet now. My mind had already soaked into the thought, I was conquering many ideas, it was a high tide approaching...

The problem at hand was very big one. Coaching institutes had landed in almost all competitive areas of education; the most evident one being engineering entrance, as engineering still remains among the most preferred side. The success of coaching institutes meant a huge failure of our +2 schooling system. Somewhere a loop hole was so big that we had started emphasising coachings more than schools. I remember an article I read regarding the coaching business in India. The research says that the industry has profits in some billion dollars, including just those institutes which are recognized. The ones owned by an individual, conducted at home remain unnoticed. Anyone who thinks is capable of teaching opens an institute. It's interesting to see how one problem is superimposed on other, when coaching institutes find scarcity of place! Then classes are opened in places meant for shops, markets. The building which collapsed in Thane had a coaching institute too! So what are we losing when we are fixing a seat into the best colleges, which would mean a good job in the future? The answer lies within...

Competition to the top..none leaves no stone unturned

The 'fees' demanded by these institutes are overwhelming. Irony lies in the fact that we are ready to pay them lakhs of rupees but hit stones and conduct strikes when our schools declare a fee hike! I am not in favour of huge fee hikes at schools, but the equality of rage towards coaching institutes goes missing. Moreover, there is no basis on which institutes ask for such a big amount. They say look at our results. We fly in air when we see posters showing AIRs in top ten or hundred, proud to be a part of an institute which produces quality students. We so give so much importance to them that we keep our schools aside. Coaching seems a gateway to IITs. Many times, these institutes tend to break laws by building fake castles in air. Even many school teachers have now hopped into this industry. It is expected that schools must stress upon preventing students from joining tuitions, but this situation invites the problem. This problem is a statistical one. What further itches is its emotional and social impact.
India has been so much in the so-called developmental era that struggle has remained a part of every Indian's life right from the Independence. The only solution one finds out of this struggle is escape. Many try to earn more and have a healthy lifestyle. So in a way, in India, we have mechanised our life, leaving no time for the country, the people, the social issues, nothing. And then these coaching institutes have become our travel agents, assuring us best service. And what an agent does not forget is commission! So do the institutes! The two years of our life, get stolen. The time when we are meant to build social, economical ideas for the betterment of the country, we sit in a coaching institute, learning to secure a high rank. What I mean to convey through this article is not complete isolation from coachings, but prevention of complete dependency and devotion to coachings. Guys, it's impossible to live without a coaching, I know. Today there are coachings even for small kids! Somewhere it roots to very basic problems in our society. Time for us to identify them. Decide cautiously, two years of life do matter. Atlast, it is you who mark your future, achieve it yourself...

The 'Legal' Bribing

Corruption...the word reminds us of cash bundles packed in a suitcase or a handbag to be delivered to a 'white-dressed' man, be it a politician or some mafia. Or, to some, it might portrait rallies, with people demanding corruption free politics and governance. To some others, it may also mean Mr. Khejriwaal! Whatever it might mean to us, it globally means this,

Corruption: Dishonest or fraudulent conduct by those in power, typically involving bribery.

Our generation must have been the 'most-corruption-cases-witnessed' one. During the past few years huge scams have come to our notice where those in power, or those in contact with the ones in power have earned millions. Such scandals have led the country to bear huge losses. Even knowing all this, we fail to stop the wrong or even act strongly against the wrongdoers  Analysing the reason for the act of bribing leads us into various psychological factors. It also roots into the man's never ending wish to achieve(define the word) more. Researches and social activists, including myself, stress upon the need to end this practice at the grassroots level. Largely it is we people responsible for tempting them to ask money. I get a thought to my mind, always when I talk or think about corruption, an idea which my Social Science teacher had...

"Bribing for getting your job done faster has held almost all the structures of Indian Democracy. We people, tired of this money-under-the-table process try to speak against it. A feeling of revolution comes to our mind. We revolt. But why don't we think for a better solution? My view upon removing corruption is making bribery legal..."

The class remained dumbstruck! Out there, the world was demanding for a corruption free world, and this man was trying to make bribing legal?! Some, including me, refused! Call it our awareness, or immaturity, that we were unable to digest his idea.

He continued, "Making bribing legal would solve almost all our problems, setting particular rules on bribing, about the amount and time period, will help remove the stagnancy in our governance. Further, this would 'sieve out the loopholes' in our system."

The idea was yet not digested by us. The thought of making bribing legal would mean rich getting richer and poor poorer! I was not then, not even yet, that mature enough to get the seriousness of his point. The class ended in a haste, our minds refusing an alien into a crowd of set beliefs, which called themselves 'the seeds of revolution'...

Today when I recall that class, I try hard to understand what my teacher actually meant, because somewhere I sensed in it the potential to cure the wound. But till today I fail. The question keeps me thinking and the answer seems to be far off. One day, I was reminded about this, I was watching television then. Commercials were on, me waiting for some show to resume. My mind hovered to find answers, when I struck to something, not the answer, but a symptom. Deeper, I could see the seriousness of this symptom...

I realised how it had remained unnoticed to all, how under-the-table money was being offered so 'publicly'. Television Life...the addaa of 'legal' bribery! The commercials I was viewing were the most important and clear-cut symptoms of how money was being played with, using 'vital nutrients' as a shield. The commercials switched too quick, giving no time to the viewer to judge and mostly fall prey to the glam of the advertisement. The list would go long if I mention some examples. You must have watched various advertisements boasting of their products first and then mentioning some attractive gifts free with the good. I have lived that time when Lay's wafers had a hard time and used to give a free gift with the packet to attract buyers(we children). But where's bribing involved in all this?! Right? Money doesn't seems to be involved in black in this industry! Then how am I making such blames! Wait...you need to broaden the way you define bribing.

This is what I mean by it,

Bribing is an act of doing or making someone ready to do something which does or propagate wrong, wrong by law or humanitarian values.

This definition tries to include all such acts which are encouraged by any influence, money or thought. Now you might have gotten something regarding why I am calling TV commercials active sites of bribing. The definition generalises, now I would also call making of terrorists as bribing, they are bribed by thoughts. Various politicians, devoid of any practical or sensible social reform, usually bribe people by cheap divisive beliefs, and it's our weakness that we fall prey to them! It is usually seen that elders tend to 'bribe' children, promising them to offer something upon certain conditions. This bribery of thought has much more affected than that of money. Speaking about commercials, I put forward three major issues that compel me to call TV advertisements foul:

1. Truth based upon fake foundation: Most of the commercials today do not have anything to do with the genuineness of the product. Most of them boast so much about their product that the true quality remains behind curtains. Regarding bribery, the actors involved in promoting such 'fake truths' are misleading people and spreading a lie. Money is poured onto them just to increase sales, even if the matter in the advertisement is false. This is clear-cut bribing!
2. Deny our Right To Choose: We might get tempted to see, in supermarkets, soaps available in packs of four saying 'a combo offer', rather nowadays single soap bars have disappeared! This attempt of soap manufacturers is indirectly an encroachment upon our right to choose! We are left with no option but to buy the four together. Many others have opted this as it leads to a good sale of their products. Irony lies in the fact that it is presented as an 'offer'!
3. Increased Dependency: My brother usually questions me that if we had no energy drinks, body growth supplements, where would have we been? How did men in history manage to live such a period of evolution? This makes me think about how dependent we have become on such items. PediaSure, Bournvita, Complan and many others give scientific reasonings in their advertisements. But ever wondered how nutritious is plain milk?! More DHA, more vital nutrients and what not do they promise! People remember one thing, our ancestors lived much more 'easy' life than we do now. They lived on natural plain diet. Our wish, being specific, our greed to achieve has made us leave no effort. Lifespan has increased, on bed. 

The points mentioned above are worth giving a thought. We live in this world, where in front of our eyes money is earned on lies. Legal bribing happens on a wide screen! Still we wait for the show to resume, yet enjoying the ads. Bribery is a part of our life, as my teacher said, it has become 'legal' now. We just fail to recognise its presence. We forget the most seen!

We fight to end corruption, but it ain't so easy process. My friend says- "Why do you write about environment? Go! First end corruption in the country!" I said it is not that easy. You need to go step by step. He looked impatient. It is natural when you find so many cases coming up around you and can do nothing but prepare yourself for an entrance exam which is gonna set your future. We read, hear, watch about corruption every now and then. News channels do sting operations to bring out the hidden. You watch the news, your mind heats up. Thoughts come to your mind so as to change the world. You rise, virtually. You see a change. For a moment a patriot gets birth. For a moment. Then you realise that you have your exams and you aren't ready yet! The initial thought dies, the patriot fades, the transient feeling returns to dormancy...you set to work to set your future...Future that promises leisures, happiness, money...And then you get bribed...and then you get bribed...