Dare to Dream

Why are we living?

Is it just because that we were born and as part of nature, we have to die and hence we have to pass the time till our death? Though this is true, we dont directly agree upon this.Then what else are we living for? We live to fulfill our dreams. What dreams? Those that were unfulfilled and hence carried forward from the previous births and those that we dream while at work or during the class.

Dr. A.P.J.Abdul Kalam always tells the youth of India to dream, dream and dream. And we, the youth (pls. dont doubt me) of India have lot of dreams.

A Typical Dream while listening to the class in the college:

A decent job (white collar) in a good firm, with a good pay package (pay = pay++ in every dream), in the field of our interest only for 8 hrs a day and 5 days a week, with ample holidays a year and good amount of shares from the company. Supplements for this dream: Company's bi-annual corporate party's, luncheon's every now and then, cab drop and pickup, etc.

Poor youth wakes up to see the reality!!
Students of any background (be it Science, Arts, Mathematics, Electronics, chemical, aything for that matter, end up joining in IT companies). Hence a White collar job with a tie, pay package always half than dreamt, job always not of ones interest, minimum of 12 hrs in the office, also sometimes during the weekends, no shares, very low hikes, but freeeeee coffee and tea.

Dream while at work:
Role change (Project Manager, Senior Consultant, Vice President, etc.), Onsite trip, Home made lunch in the tiffin box, dinner with family, only 8 hrs of work, no weekend work, own 2 BHK flat very near to the office, a car, etc.

Reality:
Breakfast, lunch, snacks at office. If one is lucky, he gets the chance to eat supper at midnight (after 11PM). Otherwise, dinner also at office. A minimum of 12 hrs stay (though one works or not) in the office, sometimes during the weekends, 2 hr bus journey one way, house atleast 20km from the office, etc.

Freshers:
"Hey u know, I got through the last interview round of AAA company; Guess the pay package?? Its 3L p.a.""Oh is it!! You know, after 2 years of exp. u can jump into YYY; Then you can demand for atleast 8L;"

After 2 years:
"Dude!! I got my H1 stamped. Me flying to NY; Lufthansa - via Frankfurt;""Cool da!! This ZZZ neither gets my visa done nor pays a good package here;""Oh I am sori, ask your PM whether they would send u to onsite or not; If not tell them that u will be leaving the company;
They will automatically get ur stamping done; Or else quit the company and join SSS and u can demand for 100% hike;"

B.Tech (any specialisation) from any university, M.Tech, B.Sc., M.Sc., MCA, BCA, and any other graduates from any background, from any part of India do those courses to get a 'GOOD' job in a 'GOOD' IT firm.

Let us consider the following statistics: (All the figures are Mean values)

Number of States in India with good number of colleges : 15
Number of Engineering colleges in a state : 100

Number of specialised branches in a college : 3

Number of students per class : 40

Number of students leaving abroad for studies : 10

Therefore total number of engineering students trying for jobs in India per annum = (40-10) * 3 * 100 * 15 = 1,35,000

Number of PG (MCA, M.Sc, etc.) colleges in a state : 50

Number of students in a class : 30
Total number of PG students trying for jobs in India per annum = 30 * 50 * 15 = 22,500

Let the number of graduates (BCA, B.Sc, etc.) who get into jobs per college be 10. (Since majority of students prefer joing their masters and since the IT companies hire lesser number of these graduates).

Total number of graduate students trying for jobs in India per annum = 10 * 50 * 15 = 7,500

Apart from these guys, let the number of previous batches unemployed students be 35,000. (This is actually a very high number, but lets take the least possible number).

Hence the grand total number of people applying for IT jobs as freshers per annum would sum to 2,00,000.

Where are the IT companies located in India?

In cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Noida, Chennai, Mumbai, Gurgaon, Trivendrum, Calcutta, etc. These cities have become so much populated and polluted that the roads that were laid are not being sufficient to accomodate the increased traffic. Hence the fly-overs, road widenings, etc. Exponential raise in the number of apartments, vehicles, taxes, fast food centres, curry points, baby creches, corporate schools, colleges, ATM centres, shopping malls, mobile
showrooms, private banks, car showrooms, multiplexes, etc.

A typical day would start at around 6:30 AM. Get ready and leave the house by 7:30 AM (breakfast optional). Reach office @ 9 AM (just within 1.5 hrs), have lunch @ office (sodexho coupons or food courts), work till 8 or 9 PM and reach back home @ 10 or 11 PM. Meanwhile have sumptuous snacks @ 6 PM in the office. Have dinner @ 11 PM and sleep after 12 AM.
Weekends:
Wake up not before 11AM, bath is optional; have a brunch (breakfast cum lunch), get ready in the evening to go out somewhere, end up in eating dinner at 11 PM, come back and watch TV till 2 or 3 AM.

Say suppose an average an IT professional gets paid 3.6L p.a. ~ 30K per month.Since most of the people stay away from their places and home towns, they end up staying in rented houses. So every month expenses include rent, food (outside), servant maid fees, travel expenses, mobile bills, freak out expenses and others. One feels that one saves a good sum of amount every month after having spent some amount for his/her benefits and enjoyment. With such a poor discipline and improper food habits, one is vulnerable to get symptoms of certain ailments at early stages (mid 30's), by which time one would have saved a good sum of amount. Now we go to gym, walking, yoga centres, dieting, etc.

If one is interested in purchasing atleast a 1000 sft 2BHK flat, one ends up taking it for a min. of 25 L in a very huge apartment complex, where he/she pays some amount towards maintenance, car parking, etc. It takes atleast 20 years to repay the total loan amount. So in a couple, both the people start working. Since there would not be time to take care of children, they are bound to be raised in baby cretches. Parents then join them into corporate schools, where they end up paying lots of sums for admissions into lower standard classes. School is just a big building and nothing more. Vast syllabuses, coaching centres, etc.

This is the trend that is prevailing in the cities since 7-8 years (21st century).
I dont say this is wrong or people are over ambitious. After one completes his/her 60 years of life in this lifestyle, what does one have at the end of his career? You have every thing in your life - Own flat, car, working life partner, children studying in corporate colleges/corporate companies, health awareness, etc.

But are we really happy?

Are we completely satisfied with out lives?How many % of people really say that they are totally happy?Every student's dream has come true. They have successfully lived their dream. So are they contended? An obvious answer is 'NO'. Dreams are never constant. They keep changing with our lives.

Dreams are the motivation of life. One has to dream about ones life. We always try to achieve what we dream. Though not 100%, we atleast try doing that. That is how life moves on.
But the difference between a happy man (rather wise man) and all the others is that the wise man knows what to dream. Dream just does not occur to him. He knows what is real happiness. He dreams wisely.

I am not a wise man. I am still one among the crores of population, one among the many lakhs of IT professionals, still dreaming when to quit the existing company and join a new one with a good pay package, waiting for the time to arrive when I can dream wisely, take wise steps in my life.