I often wonder if growing up in any other country around the
world is as competitive as growing up in India . Would I have had to go
through the countless imperceptible struggles that I went through if I had been born
in New York or London
or Dubai ? There
is no way of finding this out obviously, and that is not even the purpose of
raising this question. The truth here is that India is so unique is so many ways
that it is hard to have an uneventful childhood here.
When I say that, I do not
refer to something spectacular or bizarre that you might have been subjected
to. It is a simple concept of economics that all starts with the
country’s population. A pure demand supply mismatch, which has ensured that at
every single juncture, we have to prove that we are in the top 5% of whatever
sample space we are representing, so as to achieve what we are being considered
for. This is applicable everywhere, be it education or job or even marriage. Because
there is abundance of options here but lack of opportunities!
This had actually led to Indians being a part of all the
major job markets of the world. There is a school of thought which believes
that talent migration is one of the biggest dangers facing our country. Whether
they are right or not, is not for me to opine about, but it just seems to be
the obvious solution to many of the problems that the educated population here
faces. During the formative years, everyone has a vision of their future and
when you see that you can’t get that within the boundaries to which you are
striped, you have to look out. This has been prevalent for ages now, with the
difference that instead of moving from villages to city, you now have to “go
global”. If not here, you have to make it big somewhere!
So what impact does this kind of a backdrop have on the way
you think? For starters, it makes you prepared. Because you have seen so many prospects
lost to preferences and reservations that you know what you have is not going
to stay. And this thought never leaves you, not when you land a job after years
of struggle, not when you become the best rated employee and not even when you
become the CEO… For there is always an equally qualified guy waiting around the
corner to prove he is better than you!
But more than that, it makes you so persistent, that beyond
a point if things come easy to you, you start doubting its genuineness! I do
not know how many of us have made this observation that Indians as a bunch are
bloody determined! Especially when it comes to the subject areas where mind
rules. Well I have noticed this and far too frequently now.
The Indian mind knows that the only form of survival is to
keep getting better at the game, to make sure that the opponent is always two
steps behind, trying to figure out how to catch up. It seems like we all take
up a challenge when we are born and are obstinate to let that go till the very
last day. So much so that, at some point of time, we may have overlooked the
fact that we have already won, but are still playing just for the fun of it!
