Network Past Issues

A RASCAL’S LIFE: THE APPETIZER

B. Naga Trinadh

The first thing that comes to mind when we talk about India is “AAM AADMI – Common Man”. With 125 crores of population, more than 1/3rd of this population is the Middle Class Population. The larger chunk of the Indian Population is all young India ageing between 16 to 25 years. Middle class families in India are the country’s biggest asset. A middle class Indian family is all about working hard, paying timely installments, fractional savings, month end borrowings, daily gossips, etc. to name a few out of million things. A family of four plans from October for a summer vacations. A typical middle class in India simply means responsibilities and respect in the society. Every middle class family in India is an epic in its own way. So, to be born in a middle class family is one rich experiencing life one can have. The youngster has his own choices and preferences, but has to face the challenge of family responsibilities. A middle class youth likes to realize his dreams but may have to give up in between as the journey to glory is a mixed bag of responsibilities, financial crunches, emotional blackmails, family traditions, so on and on and the list keeps on going. A decade back, middle class Indian parents were proud enough to tell that their son successfully finished graduation (B.com) and engineering was like a cherry on the cake. Thereafter, the only dream is to see their son make it to any government office as a public servant and see him settle in life and finally feel proud of finishing their responsibility as parents. Needless to say, if it’s a girl, the moment she is married, the parents have fulfilled their responsibility in a middle class Indian family. With a proud feeling the story of their son’s job in the government office or their daughter’s marriage celebration becomes an everyday serial in the vicinity.

With the changing world, the dreams and aspirations of today’s youngsters have also taken a shift. The youngsters, especially the middle class youth are no happier with a government job. In this new world order engineering has taken a back step and information technology is settling down, while many other professions are going up for a toss. With lots of things at stake, the MANAGEMENT MAYAJAAL has casted its spell on the country’s youth. With the corporate world opening the gates, the toast of the day is management education or in simple MBA. The youth of this country wants that MBA at the end of their name and every Indian youngster would love to do it from the prestigious IIM. Here comes “THE GREAT IIM DREAM”. The CAT bug has bitten the country’s youth and the evidence is just the number of lakhs of aspirants those who take the exam every year. Students go crazy and many even become desperate to crack the cat. A look at the other side of this exam is that one needs to spend thousands of rupees to appear in the exam and almost three months salary of a middle class employee to prepare for the exam with guidance from a coaching institute. Students put years of effort with lots of hard work and dedication, many become restless while preparing for the exam. Also, few youngsters give up their careers, resign their jobs and prepare for the exam, while some risk valuable years of time completely for the CAT exam and there by misses innumerable opportunities.

The bottom line is: lots of hard work, time and missing opportunities, money and stress are the things that go in without any insurance while preparing for the CAT. A student from a rich family need not worry a lot even if he misses the bus. A poor student can seldom think of CAT exam. The real exciting and interesting story would be of a CAT aspirant from a middle class family. At one end, the pressure from the family, the urgency for a secured job and on the other extreme CAT preparation with adjusted borrowings and nightmares after a long tiring day is all a student can think of.

Many youngsters are messing up their careers and are turning into victims of management education, especially CAT in the process of chasing the IIM dream. So, the following story is definitely an eye opener for all the youngsters of the country.

In today’s world of cut throat competition, THE RASCAL’s LIFE is all about Ashok Kumar, an youngster from a middle class family with his unique style of thinking, killer attitude, silent humor and relentless passion who goes through a lot of emotions and feelings, ups and downs before realizing his dream and there by delivering a beautiful message for all the youngsters to give a perfect finish to the story.
------------------------------------------------------

The author can be contacted - Email: naga_trinadh@yahoo.co.in