The Strugglers

Reality/talent hunt shows are a rage these days. I am a big fan of 'SaReGaMaPa challenge', follow it pretty closely though not a voter. During its last 'Viswayudhh' season, Aneek Dhar and Raja Hasan were the top two. They got this grand show to perform for the final episode - and with the show having a rating of 1 that time, I am sure crores of people watched them win, and can relate/identify them now.

Now starts the issue, looking at the number of such contestants winning reality shows every week almost, what happens to them afterwards ? Most of them become strugglers - they have tasted the name and fame, can't leave the dream now, but then, it is not easy to pursue it either. This is a country where there are so many such strugglers, even a singer of Sonu Nigam cadre had to wait for a decade to get his due. We hear lot of news about strugglers, their problems (remember the miss india world - her name was Lakshmi I gues - who won the contest and then had to give up the crown later because she was found to be leagally married - for the purpose of getting a rented house! hah! what a waste of efforts!).

I really feel very sad for these budding talents - we salaried people just can't take that much of uncertainity I guess - they have to work so hard, compromise at every step - they are just so vulnerable ! Name and fame comes with a heavy price I think, except for a lucky few, and of course except for those who are born with it - Abhishek Bachhan? I remember reading in some news from an interview with Jaya Bachhan - she said, "it is good that Abhishek's movies are flopping, he will learn what is failure and what it takes to be successful and recognized. How else will Amitabh Bachhan's son know what it takes to be a star'.

When I think about strugglers, I think about those budding cricketers, models, singers etc. But then there are strugglers struggling for salaried jobs also. They have got everything - degree, background, but somehow can't make to a job. I see lot of computer science trained and engineers-aspiring-to-be-in-software folks struggling to the verge of depression for a job.

For somebody who is coming from a very modest background whose parents have already utilized their provident fund money in getting him an engineering degree in some private college - it is really a struggle. To stay in a city like Bangalore or Pune, and then hunt for a job, slowly time will be running away to get another batch into the competition. It is a pain especially for those who come from small towns, not trained so well in english conversation, have to count each rupee spent and have to manage getting a job by mostly fair means. In earlier days, when there were no jobs, nobody would have expected them to get a job soon. But now when the parents and relatives also see so many job holders in the IT industry and earning in lakhs of rupees - the pressure on these strugglers is immense, they have to prove their worth once again.

A struggler's moto - be it the glamour industry or the IT industry - is similar, get to a city where there is scope for work, get together with couple of close friends who are also strugglers, somehow manage meagre amount of money to keep you going in a shared-room-shared-flat, and wait for your that day when you will get your employement.

With Raja Hasan's 'Maari Teethri' song playing in radio stations so frequently now, it feels good to see at least one struggler moving ahead a bit - hopefully he will make it to those elite list of regular playback singers. But then, he is just one winner of one season in one year of one reality show. What about the rest?

What about the folks passing from those newly setup private colleges offering computer science degree - and especially those who pass with average grades?

My heart goes out to all those strugglers, we should encourage them to keep the hope alive, after all, even if some of us managed to get campus placements, we know what it means to be without a job with all the qualification and a rocking job market out there. So, be considerate, give everybody a chance if you are sitting in an interview panel :)

Friends and social life

How active is our social lives as compared to our previous generation - our parents?
Are we more social and friendly? Are we more reserved and formal? Have we lost the charm of dropping in, without making a phone call to check or seek permission, at a friend's place?

During college and hostel days (aah, those good old youthful days), a friend would drop in any time. No sense of timing, no questions asked. And it used to be fun as all of you will agree.

Then came the era of bachelor/spinster hood... when you are sharing a flat with a friend or even staying alone, a friend would drop in any time. Without any prior hints, and then you would figure out what to eat, whether cooking is feasible or should you go out and all ... but then also, there was no sense of timing, and no questions were asked.

Then one day you get married and have a proper family with spouse, parents/in-laws. Suddenly, the same friends would call up to ask, 'mein sochh raha tha milte hein'... arre yaar ... what has changed? In a family, one has more flexibility of arranging for food of course. There may not be the earlier luxury of weird sense of timings or endless chats for long hours, but still, there is enough time to catch up.

And earlier, when a friend just dropped in, you won't get any stress, instead, it would be fun. And now suddenly when friends start becoming rare and rarer at home, when they do come in, you are stressed - kya khayega, uski spouse ko yeh achha lagega ke nahin...

In this era of MySpace, Orkut and Blogspot, we communicate through writing - in the virtual world. No drop-in to catch up, no random phone calls to ask some useless questions. Meetings only with prior appointment - even if your schedule is not packed.

Don't know what the majority think, but I think it should be the way like hostel days. Just drop in, if there is some awkward situation, we will anyway figure it out how to solve it or take it in our stride. After all, friends don't expect you to treat them as guests, right ?

I still miss those of my friends who used to drop in exactly at the lunch hour :) And then we would end up sharing whatever was cooked for a single person, but it was fun, and you used to feel comfortable enough to ask a friend to join in even if you are in the middle of your meal. But, gone are those days ...

Need to revive the 'casual' social life, call few friends to chat on useless stuff.