And one more journey rolls over…

There is no direct road for this journey; sky is the limit then. Today when I am writing this post, the countdown has begun, next Thursday I am flying to United States. I don’t know how this last week is going to be nor have I planned anything yet. It seems to be busy and anxious, just like one last month.

The last month, June, was very random, unpredictable and changing. First, I met a girl at a time when I was about to leave the capital after a week or two. We didn’t have great time to know more about each other, get close to each other and share some quality moments. No worries, though. God must have planned an awesome feast for me, waiting somewhere around in this world. Second, officially, 8th was my last working day with Ericsson, however, farewell and get together parties were on highs from last one week. The good part: I was enjoying the fiesta time with my mates and friends; the sad part: it is not going to repeat for a long time now. A day out with friends at Connaught Place, time spent with college mate at a beer bar in Janakpuri, visiting friends, kicking back to under-grad campus and the heart touching, farewell treat & gift from office lunch group - one I am going to miss alot. Third, I had to leave the place that was like second home to me. I had been in Gurgaon for last 7 years and I loved the place, the traffic chaos, the people, the shops and malls, the night life and everything. It was really painful to leave behind this city after such a long period. So finally I was home now. Home sweet home, but you know the month of June. It had to be different this time. Dad had already made arrangements to sell my car – the one that I loved to drive and that was always with me whenever I was alone. Next started the preparation of lists for shopping, purchasing, packing and blah blah. Shopping is awesome, I enjoy it. But it was not clothing, footwear, apparels, books or gifts this time, instead, medicines, kitchenware, food items, luggage bags, sheets & pillows etc etc. Past month, there wasn’t a single day when I didn’t go out to market place. Oh yes, alongside I had to execute the list of visiting relatives, and I loved it. It was really glad and jolly to see kids, cousins, uncle, and aunt after a long time. No no, I didn’t want to mention, however, it is my sheer desire to include an important part that made the month more chaotic – online courses to be completed before joining the campus. It has all started again – assignments, courses, scores.

I am going to join a grad school next week and I know it is going to be a tough ride, very hectic and stressful. Although I like such rides, now I want to relax, to be patient and to embrace each and every moment with my family, friends and place. Now when all seems set & prepped and lists have narrowed down to bottom, while in middle of courses, I am planning to change the course of starting July with no anxiety, worries and stress. I know I won’t get such moments, days and week again in my life. With July rolling over, this last week on homeland, I am going to have fun and hang out with school friends, collect great moments with my family, finish the courses (only if it is comfortable, w/o any stress), eat a lot - I won’t get this food for a long time now, visit office at Gurgaon to meet my lunch group & enjoy the last moments in the city before setting out to Airport.

That’s all for now, but I know there must be more to do and add on. I am more excited to move on now to a new life across borders at St. Louis, USA. Yeah!!

Do you KNOW what you KNOW ??

A kind of Self – Audit or Reflection of oneself identifies 4 categories as per one’s knowledge of own knowledge.

1) One who DOESN’T KNOW and DOESN’T KNOW that he doesn’t know is a FOOL.

2) One who DOESN’T KNOW and KNOW that he doesn’t know is a CHILD and need teachings.

3) One who KNOW and DOESN’T KNOW that he know is ASLEEP and DUMB.

4) One who KNOW and KNOW that he know is WISE and INTELLIGENT.

Who are you ??

Game of 3Es

Here, I am referring to numerous discussions with people of all ages regarding the education in our country and high rate of unemployment. Data from the various publications implies that education is on the great move and nation has the profound working population (youth of the nation). Ironically, the same publications identify the high and surging rate of unemployment inside the borders. Why so ?? Where are we ??

As per my analysis and readings, this whole game revolves around 3Es (Education - Employability - Employment) while the above datum is taking into account - 2Es. Education doesn’t leads to Employment; there is Employability in between. Education of a person increases her employability and then, in turn, leads to an employment. It seems that, in our system, we are skipping the vital part – employability and trying to jump over to employment directly from education. Even the rate of unemployment is calculated on the basis of number of people who are educated and jobless, again taking into account only 2Es. According to the demands of the market place and the stiff neck to neck to competition in the global economies, education is nothing but literacy – ability to read and write. Being educated is not sufficed to get employment, one has to be employable. Unemployment data should be figured out as unemployed head count only if those unemployed are really employable, not merely educated, and jobless.

My office cab driver once asked me to get a job for him while he was explaining that he did his under graduation in Arts with a degree in honors. He was wordless to my question – “what do you know and what can you do”; meaning he doesn’t know anything and can’t do anything other than driving a cab (that is what exactly he is doing). In fact, his employability quotient is zero, although he is educated or literate. What I saw was sense of dissatisfaction from his education and there are innumerable friends to him, he is not alone.

Our education system is giving lot of engineering graduates year on year, however, these engineers are educated (read as Literate) but not employable. N.R. Narayana Murthy said in one of his interview: “Seventy-five per cent of our engineers are not employable”. Most of the colleges and universities are only educating the students, whether under grads or grads, and not making them employable. Although there are institutions that facilitate lots of opportunities and work towards the student’s employability quotient, the students are not receptive and adaptive to the required changes.

Also, it is not the case that there are scarce jobs in the market. McKinsey said Indian IT can get to about $300 billion by 2020 (from the current $60 billion), for which better and more talent is required. There is no magic silver bullet for this problem. The only solution is to sit down with an open mind and improvise our education system to impart knowledge and excellence along with literacy. No doubt we have achieved high rate of education or literacy, we are still far behind the high rate of employability and employment.

Economics of Relationships

“Couples are made in heaven” – this saying was relevant only till we didn’t have lot many marriage consulates and high tech communications in place. Now, everything is planned and manual - from the growth of fruits (using chemicals) to setting human relationships.

It hardly happens that a boy from highly affluent family is engaged to a girl from middle class family or a girl from rich family is engaged to a boy from a family with handful of resources. This set up has got a very sleek economics behind it. Economics is not only about studying the money, trade and industry but also about how money influences the trade, industry and society.

This economics revolve around the concept of social set. Actually, every person interacts in her own social set - people of same thoughts, mental level, lifestyle, income, expenditure, consumer surplus and everything. Her each activity, involvement, interaction, entertainment, workplace involves friends, relatives, colleagues within that same social set. When her life is constricted to a single social set only, how is it possible to get into relationship with someone from different social set. In short, relations usually make up between families within same social set, whether it is an arranged marriage or love marriage. In case, someone encounters the other social set (higher or lower), it is very tough and technically, challenging to jump onto another one, leaving behind own set.

Changing social set means shifting paradigms, changing thought process, modifying lifestyle, leveling income & expenditure, getting recognition in other social set, achieving new professional milestones and lot many other attributes. Other than the ability to overcome these materialistic disparities, one must have high emotional quotient and power to get rid of the old habits, when making this drastic and rational change.

People usually uplift individually while remaining in their own social set, however, don’t update their social set. Migration among social sets is not only a function of achievement and abilities but also a function of time. It may take generations to update the so called – social set. Now, I am trying to change (read it as update) my social set before I get into relationship :) :)