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Be the change you want to be!

A friend of mine, Integrator, recently pointed out that I have either written about love or about technology. And when I come to think of it, it is quite true to some extent. Though I have drafts on all sorts of topics ranging from education to money, from politics to bollywood. But none of them achieved the state of completion. Not because I don't want to, but because I believe I am too small a man to comment on the world's greatest problems. I, so terribly wanted to comment on the ayodhya issue, and about suresh kalmadi and common wealth games, and about arundhati roy but restrained because I thought "what difference is it going to make".

However a quick retrospection told me that I, too, had given up hope. The hope that we will ever be the country Rabindranath used to talk about. The land
Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
So today I decided to complete one such article. It's an old one. So bear with me. And thankfully, it's not about love! And neither is it about technology. It's an all time favourite. I am going to write about change. It's about the modern youth.
It's about us. Us, the generation of today. Us, the generation that lives on text messages and tweets with a 140-character limit. It's about  youngistan, the youth of India! The generation that believes in challenging conventions.

Youngsters speak in a different language, 'no' for them means now, 'how' means somehow and that is the way of living which is simply 'wow'.
The generation that believes that facebook is the best scientific invention. And the generation that believes that no book can ever match wikipedia.

Am I asserting that we are transgressing to what I call "idiocracy"? Partly yes!
But again, I say, partly. The lesser, and not so argued part being when else does a man have the guts to challenge the society?

I remember having read asin sometime back, in India Times summit.

"Anyone who is not a rebel before 35 and a rebel after the age of 35 is not a normal person."
The youth today has a strong desire for change and that's how ideas are born. But as reality sets in and as life goes on, we tend to mellow down and compromise ideals for the sake of survival. This compromise, whether we do or not or to what extent, determines the change that we can bring about.

The change, however can come only from a source that has profound ideals. Isn't that so? A hundred years ago, the young generation had ideals. They were united by an idea of a free India ruled, governed and led by Indians. They differed in their methods, so some professed non-violence while others violence; some wanted to free India through revolution while others through evolution.

Now think of the day today. All of us, here at AIT will be joining the industry immediately after we graduate (no I am not considering the CAT and GRE people. They are a league ahead). In the corporate world we are bound to find scores and scores of engineers and developers who start with new ideas but in an effort to gain a foothold here, lose it all. Here everything and everybody is a commodity, exactly replaceable by the next talented non-name. This jostle is never ending.

So what do we do? We are stuck in this great deadlock. On one side are those that can risk it all to bring the change, but on the immediate lower, we have scores of those for whom "sab kuch chalta hai". And this transition from an all-so-powerful youth to not-so-risk-taking gentleman is pretty smooth. And we happen to be on the top of this pyramid.

What is the solution then?

The solution lies nowhere but within us. It's all onto us whether or not we choose to surrender. The task is momentous. But it's in his prime only that a man can take risks! All we need is to ask ourselves if we can be the change we want to see.

If reality asks us to compromise on our ideals, are we able to recreate or renew reality rather than extinguish our ideals? Because it is only by adhering to our values and ideas that we can create real value.

The how part of the question still remains unanswered because again I am too small a man to suggest ways, but yes, we need to change, we need to change the way we let things go. And the sooner we realize this, the better.

Comments

  1. u talked of "sab kuch chalta hai" attitude and u talked of Tagore's land, I appreciate that. But not the attitude you showcased in the last para, "I am too small a man to suggest ways". Y can't u? You can prove that pen is mightier than a sword, or may be a keyboard this time. You should have written something motivational is the end. I am not guaranteeing you a revolution, but it could bring a change, if not much, in few of ur readers. Nice blog post, btw. I bet no one can leave it half-read.

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  2. I left the "How" part as an exercise for the readers! Given the will, one always finds the ways!
    All I wish is that instead of following the beaten track and merging themselves with the mainland crowd, the youth today should keep the fire alive. Everyone around us, everyone...has the will to change. But that eventually dies. Let that spirit not die. Let that rebel be alive. The ways are many. That, now, is upto you to discover.

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  3. hey,..good wrk..pretty inspirin..n it'll hit home fr most f ur target audience;)..infact, wat i likd is lik d wrks f many matured writers, ur article seems 2 grow on d reader wid each successive reading..luvd d line "If reality asks us to compromise on our ideals, are we able to recreate or renew reality rather than extinguish our ideals? Because it is only by adhering to our values and ideas that we can create real value."!!..n wat i likd d most waz dat d article waz genuine..no emotional handbook princy fundaz!!..honestly, i wudn do u justice if i didn add ma naggin criticism..hehe...so, wil jst say dat a few wrds ( comprise, deluge, etc.., i may b slippin up) seemd outta context, bt m goin outta ma way 2 b a pain in the butt...al in al, pretty awsme!!:)

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