It is way back in the nineties, the decade of IT boom which led to the demand for Management studies. During the IT boom, not a single family was untouched by it and most of the parents wanted their child either to be an engineer, doctor or software engineer.
Even my parents, and the family, had lost most of our savings in forced greasing of the palms of Orissa State Financial Corporation officials and other government officials to make their (Rather legitimate enterprise) polymer and paper industry see the light of the day, My Father, a retired paper technologist and my Maternal Uncle a retired technical person from Indian Air force, were struggling to make ends meet at the domestic front. too. We had to struggle to even fend for our basic daily existence.
Even my parents, and the family, had lost most of our savings in forced greasing of the palms of Orissa State Financial Corporation officials and other government officials to make their (Rather legitimate enterprise) polymer and paper industry see the light of the day, My Father, a retired paper technologist and my Maternal Uncle a retired technical person from Indian Air force, were struggling to make ends meet at the domestic front. too. We had to struggle to even fend for our basic daily existence.
My Grandmother, who was a born optimist and my pillar of strength, asked me to teach her how to write the Hindi alphabets and how to sign the documents in Hindi, because she wanted to open a savings account in the neighboring Post Office, so that she could deposit the meagre amount she could endeavor to save through the daily household expenses. .She did it and all the money she could save from the grocery, and other sundry expenses, she used to deposit it in her Post Office account.
Whereas, my Mother was hell bent on my going to study abroad, to U.S.A. to study M.B.A. She made me sit for the TOEFL and GMAT exams. I cleared the TOEFL exams, but not the GMAT exams. I appeared twice for the exam. Every time she encouraged me to take the test, I used to make her see reason that the family was struggling both financially and mentally and at that juncture it was a farce for me to even think of studying abroad. Rather than appearing for the GMAT exams it would be be worthwhile finding a better paying job which suited my capabilities and aptitude.
She even took me to discuss an astrologer with Mrs. Rath, a friend of my Mother, whose son was going to the U,S,A, for further studies in IT. While waiting at the Astrologer's residence for him to arrive, I saw a small white dog tightly leashed to a wooden clump stuck into the ground. Somehow, I was able to identfy myself with him and had a good mind of setting it free to end its misery.
She even took me to discuss an astrologer with Mrs. Rath, a friend of my Mother, whose son was going to the U,S,A, for further studies in IT. While waiting at the Astrologer's residence for him to arrive, I saw a small white dog tightly leashed to a wooden clump stuck into the ground. Somehow, I was able to identfy myself with him and had a good mind of setting it free to end its misery.
At last, the astrologer arrived to rescue us from the mosquito invested veradah of his house and he asked my Mother to get my Computerized Horoscope" so that he could answer her queries. He therefore added to the unwanted expense so that he could earn his commission from the the agencies making the horoscopes.
During the next trip to the astrologer, I refused to go with her and she returned from the astrologer with her face beaming with happiness. "You will surely go abroad for MBA studies"! she said. I only thought of the dog leashed to the people, whining to be ser free from its misery. After a couple of months, Mrs. Rath's son went to the U.S.A. for M.S. studies in IT.
I wondered, why the parents heard their children like cattle? Why cannot the parents help the child discover his or her unique talents and capabilities so that the child is able to develop a sense of worth and a sense of belonging at home and within the human society; this therefore helps an individual to develop both self confidence and self respect, which helps the child to easily and beneficially integrate in the society the with mutual benefit to the society as well as to oneself.. We need a social setup that does not herd people like cattle but as and integral part of the society in totality.
Even an animal such as dog, cattle do not require "training", which means obeying commands. They too, through constant verbal expressions and modulation of voice are intelligent enough to understand what a human is communicating to them. When we interact with the with respect and honesty they understand loud and clear, what a gentle pat on the head and gentle or loud voice is conveying to them. They get the message loud and clear.
