Of engineering, boys and more!

No offence meant to this profession, its people; this is a complete personal point of view.

Coming from a broad minded family, whose idea of intelligence went beyond the realm of commercial sciences, i had somehow always despised the idea of a degree in engineering or medicine. I appreciate and look upto people who do well, in these fields, but more often than not they seem to be victims of a lack of choice. A kind of conditioning and brain storming for a long long time is obviously going to prove worthwhile. Courtesy- parents, uncles, aunts, grandparents and the list goes on. For a country that holds comparable credibility in the sciences, humanities and commerce the situation at the lower levels of the academic ladder seems ridiculously weird and rather bereaved. The national engineering colleges in India (forgive me for not specifically mentioning the much hyped three letter institute) are undoubtedly highly competitive and easily one of the best in the world, though the rankings may say otherwise. It is not about the faculty, infrastructure, facilities but merely the class of students that these institutions admit each year . The merit here has to be given to the gruelling and heated examination standard. Yes, people go through it and the lucky ones make it to the best, the not so lucky ones to the next best and the rest survive on third degree support. The hard, tough story ends here if one were to agree with the general perception. Its from here that I would like to contemplate ontheir deceivingly uneventful lives.

To be the best is a great feeling, but to be among the best can be a sudden pull into reality introspection and a whole lot of questioning. Especially since at this point of time we have egos at their heights and easy to throw around attitudes. But guys have got the flair, much to our envy, to tackle everything in those typical buoyant spirits. So the initial suffocation gives way to the pleasures of hostel life, new found freedom, the zillion activities zooming around the campus, clubs, sports....... Tucked away mostly in plush green small hilly regions, the weather being a boon, it all is definitely picture perfect, except for a major deficiency- G.I.R.L.S. Sadly the national institutes do not offer the finest of the female species. And most of the girls would agree too. Living in cities, with the smart asses away in village getaways, its nightmarish to feel insecure about the village lasses. No wonder engi guys are called desperate, maybe its justified considering the four years of almost isolation from good sights!

But technology has a solution for that too! Begin the numerous long distance romances, initially awkward phone conversations that last hours into the night, the pressure of having that someone, desperately managing phone bills, the eventual explanations, the anxiety, the happy moments. Unlucky break ups, heart aches, sensitive ones landing into forbidden territories to vent. This is that bad patch, when academics take a back seat, falling GPAs and never ending despair. It is also funny to see them getting into deep philosophy poetry and the likes. While the blogs were filled with electronics, gadgets and metaphysics, they now are overloaded with the musings of unlucky in love posts and defeated souls.But hardly makes a difference cause there is always an easy entry for another to make way into life! And the cycle is complete. And it must be fun to hear a group of guys bitching about this heartless girl. NO life long impacts though.
Its back to batman, superman and action after this phase. Zapak gaming, PS2s, basketball are such wonderful healers aren't they? Caught up in their own worlds with assignments, end sems and the added pressures of placements and higher studies time flies. And they are done!

BTW i like these engi guys. In the national ones. They are cutely dumb, smart and intelligent, popular! They are also happy and secure apart from their rare screw ups. They hav FUN and do not do long term thinking which is the best way to prepare for the future. Of course there are exceptions anywhere and im also not generalising. This opinion is based on just the feel.
Im setting aside all my ego to say this, for what you people go through your attitude amazes me. Sometimes i think you form the backbone of our country.
Keep rocking!