Business to the Buddha

Tag: 3 idiots

  • Showjumping







    It was a Monday morning I woke up at 6:00 AM, got ready for office. Call it Monday blues for others but for me Monday’s are s different type of race. Race to get to the main road, catch a cab (cabbies dont want to go short distance ~6 KM <60 INR), board a local train to Andheri station run from there too to catch an Auto or Bus; where there is already a big line! Seriously, at times I feel “life is a race” (reminds me of a dialog in movie 3 idiots), no one knows race for what and where! The story does not end here. Whenever I cross NALCO (a stop for buses in Andheri East area), I see kids walking to school. One thought comes to my mind – these kids too have their office! That office is called school.

    At least till 8th standard, I don’t remember if I had gone to school, after exams for 1 full month of April month. My niece, she is not even 5 years finished her LKG in March; goes to her office (e.g. school) at 8:00 AM in April Month – yes she is in UKG now – she has got promoted! In our offices too we have a system of promotion (at least examination in March-April) isn’t it?

    This does not seem to me as education – we are making machines. My sister teaches in a school – I asked her what is the purpose of education? Why are you a teacher? Her response was unconventional. She said I want to make the kids expand their horizons. I added do you think schooling is doing it right? She had a mixed response.

    I feel forcing kids to school is not education, it can at best be schooling. Here please think of “Schooling” – as a verb! Such as training a horse for Showjumping!


  • Currency for the future?







    In his class, Prof Mankad asked us “what is money?” He answered – “Money is what is accepted as money”. Very apt definition. Here I am taking small freedom to change it a bit. I am changing the word “accepted” to “trusted”. Of course trust is a very heavy word. We have built a concept “of money” on trust. The question is where is trust? On a lighter note – There was a time when banks did not trust each other (recession of 2008). I have heard this idiom – “put your mouth where the money is.” Should money be replaced with “trust”.

    I was watching 3 idiots last Sunday and thought that kids like Rancho (character played by Amir Khan) – who could solve problems of class 10th while studying in class 6th – are not that rare in India. You go to Super 30 in Bihar, or any institute in Kota (Aakash, Bansal etc) you would encounter many such kids. Then what happens? Why don’t we see such extraordinary kids as stars of tomorrow? Because in future all these kids realize that the only measurement stick (metric) this world has is – Money! See the video of Staffi Graph – how much money do you have? Well, I am not blaming Staffi for that. This is just a representative video of our society. The measurement of success is how much money do you have? Not how did you get it. Also, the measurement is not how satisfied or happy you are?

    [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlA_hL3NyyU]

    When these extraordinary kids get out of college, are paid enough and more so that they do “what the company wants them to do”, not what they would want to do. Most of them choose to accept that offer because measurement metric for the society is – Money.

    Let us flip the coin and say “Trust” is the currency. What would happen? Those who have hoards of currency may be the most bankrupt people on the earth. Perhaps, a business of trading of trust would start (Bomday Trust Exchange or National Trust Exchange). Would the world be a different place then when currency would be mutual trust (well not necessarily Mutual such as DLF and Robert Vadra ;))

    The day I started writing this blog I also had a brief discussion with Mr Shreekant Shiralkar and he was of the opinion – Money becomes immaterial after a certain time, what you do, what satisfaction you get from work and the trust you build is important. When he said Trust his thoughts were different compared to what I am presenting here. However, what I feel is the currency for future should be trust you build, the good you do to the society and how satisfied and happy you are.