On Hypocrisy, Hollowness and IITs _ My Grey Goose Quill

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1/16/14 On Hypocrisy, Hollowness and IITs | My grey goose quill

earthisnotround.wordpress.com/2012/06/13/on-hypocrisy-hollowness-and-iits/

Life exists, and identity, That the powerful play goes on,

and you may contribute a verse. Walt Whitman

On Hypocrisy, Hollowness and IITs

JUNE 13, 2012tags: Devdas Menon, Education, Hollowness, Hypocrisy, I

t is the task of a lifetime. It used to be called education once upon a time.

The following article is written by Devdas Meno(http://www.facebook.com/devdas.menon1) (Prof. at IIT Madras)

This article (which i wrote many years ago) may be of interest to you. I was reminded of it, whiresponding to many emails from old IITM students concerned about the proposed changes to JEE anthe possible loss of a self-image to which many have a strong emotional investment

We are the hollow men,

We are the stuffed men,Leaning together,Headpiece filled with straw.

- T S Eliot

Nobody likes to be called a hypocrite. Yet, nearly everybody is one. No doubt, some are lehypocritical than others. But there is nobody, to the best of my knowledge, who is entirely free fromhypocrisy. Perhaps, to be hypocritical is human.

A hypocrite is one who projects a false self-image. One pretends to be someone one, in fact, is noInitially, this is for the consumption of others. But sure enough, and soon enough, one is oneseconsumed by it. To be good (?) at hypocrisy, one has to be a skilful liar, and for this reason, politicianqualify eminently as good hypocrites. We love to condemn the species of politicians because they nonly lie so glibly, but get away with so much power and loot in the bargain.

In our heart of hearts, however, I suspect that we are actually envious of these politicians (and all othewealthy/powerful people). Yet, we condemn them readily. That is our brand of hypocrisy. If, by somchance, we are offered a taste of their power and wealth, surely we would throw our injured morality the winds, jump on to their bandwagon, and even pronounce that it is all for the good of the people!
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earthisnotround.wordpress.com/2012/06/13/on-hypocrisy-hollowness-and-iits/ 2

***

The denial of our hypocrisy makes us hollow. Hollowness, in this context, is the gap between what ware and what we think we are. It is difficult for us to face the reality of our hollowness, because wgenuinely believe that we are good and noble. We point at our good work, our accomplishments, oucharity and whatnot, as solid evidence of our good character.

Men of wisdom such as Socrates have identified the disease of hollowness as the most dangerous threto education. It is perhaps for this reason that the dictum of Socrates, Know thyself, was specificalchosen to be the inscription on the portals of the Parthenon, the Greek Temple of Wisdom. It is as valtoday as in his time.

Hypocrisy, to some extent, is inescapable, given the requirements of a civilised society. For example, ware expected to smile and say silly things like Good morning! or Excuse me!, even when we are leainclined to feel pleased or apologetic. But this is a trivial kind of hypocrisy indeed, a conventionnecessity to facilitate cordial human interaction. This is an example of a situation where we are beinhypocritical (out of necessity), but we are not being hollow.

The issue of hollowness arises only when we miss the fact that we are practising hypocrisy as, foexample, when we smile sweetly at certain individuals, and later stab them gleefully behind the

backs. Many of us engage in this practice as a daily habit, and certainly derive much malicioupleasure out of it. But if we catch our enemies at the same game against us, we would not hesitate condemn them, as righteously as possible.

We do not dare admit to any charge of hypocrisy, and we can invent excellent reasons in our defencBy systematically deluding ourselves on a daily basis, we become more and more hollow. And so, person who justifies the act of accepting a hundred-rupee bribe today will have no qualms i

rationalising the acceptance of a thousand rupees tomorrow, and no doubt, demanding ten thousanrupees the day after. It seems to be a coming of age from reluctant acceptance to uncompromisindemand.

With continued practice, we become adept at the art of deceiving ourselves, and of skilfully suppressinwhat remains of our chastising conscience. To be forewarned about this is, hopefully, to be forearmed.

***

We all crave respectability, and are so led to doing things that other people deem to be importanThus, everybody wants to do the same thing at the same time, and this results in heavy competition. Ithis mad rush to keep ahead of the crowd, we have neither the time nor the inclination to pause anquestion: whither and wherefore?

Socrates may have taught Know thyself, but the only thing we know for sure is that we had bettehurry, lest we should miss the bus. We do not bother to know who we are, or what we really wish to din life. It is easier and safer to join the rat race.

Thus, the individual is sacrificed at the altar of society.

***


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We folks at IIT (or NIT) have the good fortune of being rated highly respectable. This is so becausEngineering at IIT is the Paradise that all sensible young people in India are expected to yearn for, anwe have gained admittance to that Promised Land. The moment one mentions that one is from an IIpeople (at any rate, sensible people) are instantly impressed. Sometimes they ask, Isnt it very difficuto get admission there? to confirm that their judgement is not in error. We wait patiently for them add, You must be a real genius!

With regard to choosing the field of engineering, how fortunate we are to have everything so well laiout and pre-decided for us. To be intelligent, and not aspire for Computer Science as our first choice surely, that would be downright stupidity, if not a cardinal sin! So, we all claim to have an inherenliking for this stream, compared to all others (which we know next-to-nothing about at the time admission). It pays to cultivate hollowness early in life.

During our schooldays (and sometimes, till late in life), it is our parents prerogative to decide what wought to like and dislike. From an early age, they indoctrinate us into believing that the greatest virtuin life lies in scoring marks and passing entrance exams. What a shame it would be to the entire familif we were to perform poorly, and if the neighbour makes it through JEE, while we miss the bu

Nobody bothers about the joys of childhood and the pleasures of learning for fun, which we miss in ousingle-minded obsessive pursuit.

Its a miracle when we find that we have succeeded at JEE, and that too without going completelcrazy! Not everybody gets Computer Science, of course, but we are consoled when we are told: doesnt matter what you study, as long as it is at the IIT; its the brand value that counts. When wdutifully enter the portals of IIT, our parents are delighted by their success. We have served well ainstruments to gratify their desires. Of course, they claim that it is all for our welfare. And thegenuinely believe this, and so do we.

The disease of hollowness is, for most, chronically incurable.

***

When we enter IIT, we notice many familiar faces from our concentration camps (JEE coachincentres). Seeing is believing: the brightest brains of India are indeed concentrated at Hyderabad anKota!

Breathless and eager to experience the Paradise we have heard so much about, we sit in rapt attentioinside the classrooms, anxious to pick up pearls of wisdom. But gradually it dawns on us th

something has gone wrong somewhere. Bravely, we brush aside our apprehensions as mere figments imagination. In our weak moments, however, we are ashamed to hear the groaning in our hearts: HeThis is Engineering?

But we dare not speak aloud, even to our friends. Instead, we smile and pretend that everything is as should be. Our job is to get on with the important business of scoring marks; everything else secondary. During the class hours we are bombarded with all kinds of information, all of which mu

be surely very important. We slog through innumerable quizzes, assignments and whatnot. It is shewonder that we survive without losing our sanity.


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We get hardened (immunised?) by the time we enter our second year. We learn, thanks to our seniorall the tricks of the trade required to survive and to beat the system. A great secret is revealed to us: it not necessary to understand the subject in order to pass or even score well in the examinatioMoreover, even those few who struggle to gain fundamental understanding often end up with pooscores. We excel in the art of copying assignments, lab records, and even test papers. However, in spiof all this, some of us end up failing in a few courses. Fortunately, IIT is kind enough to promote us tthe next semester. We lose interest in studies, and the teachers all know it. However, we are not to

disturbed. It does not matter, because everybody knows that ours is a world-class institution.

Once in a while, we hear excited announcements about IIT Madras being ranked third or so in somAsian journal. Some less informed people say that we are ranked fiftieth or sixtieth in the world. Whiwe may be willing to concede a higher status to MIT or Stanford, we have some difficulty in extendinthis generosity to other technical institutions in India. India Today publishes regularly a list of the toten engineering colleges in the country, and when we find IIT Madras ranked fourth or fifth, we fesad that the public at large has been so cruelly misinformed.

We drift from semester to semester in blissful ignorance. We undergo numerous courses, a

supposedly very important. We get to see all kinds of teachers the good, the bad and the ugly. Thgood ones are too sincere and make us feel guilty of our own insincerity. The bad ones mumbsomething in the class, take attendance and run away. The ugly ones like to bully us and compel us submit all kinds of stupid assignments. Most of us never stand up and ask questions in any clas

because we may end up looking like the idiots we suspect we are. This can be acutely embarrassinespecially if it is a mixed class, with the other sex around. All said and done, we try to have a good timin the class, giggling and fooling around. The teachers pretend they do not see us play.

After all this turmoil and confusion, it is an immense relief to get back home at the end of eversemester, and to hear the neighbours whisper, Hes studying at IIT. He must be really brilliant! It is lik

the sound of sweet music. We wish we could have it replayed (at higher volume) again and again!

***

In our fourth year, new passions enter our lives: applying to U.S. universities and campus placementWe talk to one another knowledgeably about the universities and their rankings, about plum jobs the offing, and multinational corporations like Lime Group, Lehmann Brothers, CapitalOne anCiticorp. We dream of beaches (and other pleasant things) waiting for us in California, air-conditioneoffices (with plush wall-to-wall carpeting), attractive secretaries, mind-boggling salaries, chauffeudriven cars

We attend various interviews and group discussions, hoping that we are not asked too many technicquestions. (It is comforting to note that even the great Bill Gates did not fare too well in thdepartment, during his college days.) It is such a big relief to know that most employers assume thawe are geniuses in our fields of specialisation because we are from IIT. We also learn the art oconfidently bluffing our way through inconvenient questions.

Sooner or later, we get through somehow, and in the process, discover a mind-boggling secret: moobs have little to do with engineering! You do not need engineering to work on banking software, osell soaps or even computers. Yet, it has become fashionable for companies to recruit engineers to serv


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as their programmers and salesmen, with promises of careers in information technology and marketinmanagement. All money-making roads seem to lead to software and management. Some of us takeminor detour through U.S. universities before landing up in software and management. After all thfrenzy and hype about getting through the most difficult exam in the world (JEE) to study engineerinits surprising to discover that just a handful stays back in core engineering.

But, mercifully, nobody raises any questions, and a great myth is skilfully preserved.

***

When we join the universities and companies that have recruited us, we are breathless and eager experience the Paradise we have heard so much about Yet another (familiar) phase in our hollolives begins

We run around hither and thither, meeting deadlines and targets, and trying to impress our bosQuickly, we learn the tricks of the new trade, hop from one job to a more paying one, pull the righstrings, and butter the right people on their right side. We may not have formally studied thmanagement sciences, but our native IIT intelligence (cleverness?) helps us get around with remarkabsuccess.

Success is all that matters. There may be occasional feelings of guilt at having migrated fromengineering and from India in the pursuit of good fortune, and at not following Gandhian ideals, even Nehruvian ideals for IITians. But our successful seniors have set wonderful examples in provinthat it doesnt matter what you do, as long as you make it to the Whos Who. No recognition, howeveis sweeter than the one you get from back home. In a single stroke, all feelings of guilt get wiped awaywhen you win a distinguished alumnus award from IIT, in recognition of a successful career you hamade in selling insurance in the West. The wonderful education at IIT is what paved the launching pa

to your success.

In the meantime, we get married after much skilful negotiation preferably, to other respectabprofessionals like ourselves. Then, we enjoy life in all its fullness (and hollowness), and live happily evafter! We reproduce miniature versions of ourselves, and we promptly proceed to program them alonrespectable lines. We want them to become even more respectable professionals than ourselves. Ocourse, it is all for their welfare! And, no doubt, also for the development of our society!

Thus, history repeats itself.

And so does hollowness.

***

This story has drawn to an end. Is it a comedy? Or, is it a tragedy? We are left somewhat confused anhurt by this playfully provocative story. Is there a moral to the story?

We may concede that we are hollow men (and women). But what are we supposed to do?

Perhaps,


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to pause and find out what we really want in life,to discern what is of enduring value,to accept the harsh truths about ourselves,to feel the pain of dishonesty,to allow ourselves to be authentic,to strive to remain on the true but difficult path,to listen to the music of our soul, and

to fill the hollowness with the fullness of our real selves.

It is the task of a lifetime. It used to be called education once upon a time.

fromEducation, Pro44 Comments leave one1. anil PERMALINK

June 13, 2012 10:34nice one

REPLY2. Sudha PERMALINKJune 13, 2012 12:43Amazing article and what a lovely line It is the task of a lifetime. It used to be called educationonce upon a time.

REPLY3. Chetan PERMALINK

June 13, 2012 12:56very truthful and insightful article.

REPLY4. Pranoy PERMALINK

June 13, 2012 13:02

Truly wonderful write-up. What he says goes beyond IITs, IIMs and all elite, non-elite schools, backto what all the wise people have ever said, back to what education really means, could really meanLovely read!!

REPLY5. Ashtung PERMALINK

June 13, 2012 14:26Dear Dr. Menon,Im sorry but its been difficult for me to refer to any IIT-M prof. as Sir, ever since that mail chainquestioning the students culture and insulting our parents was leaked.

Anyhow, just like it is fashionable to hire IITians to sell soaps, it is equally fashionable to criticise thset-up. Well, I pose but a very simple question. Suppose a student, exceptionally smart and hard-working but has a bad handwriting, decides to NOT choose PCM or go to those concentrationcamp, what other choice does he/she have? Sure we could name SRCC or St. Stephens butsomeone with a handwriting like mine, cannot hope to score more than 80% in boards.
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Interests and passions all take a back seat when you see you parents sacrificing something so thatyou could buy a watch or new shoes. All that most people desire is a little more security, a littlemore comfort in life, and in a way, they are actually following their passion by earning as much asthey can.

REPLYAmit Deshwal PERMALINK*

June 13, 2012 16:09Here is what I think to question you posed to Dr. Menon (1) I am not sure if IIT as a system isbeing criticized here.. In question is also the reason why your options (in terms of life and careeshould so heavily be dictated by the System.? And that is for us to think about.. The system thanarrows down the options to SRCC and Stephens is also in question.. (2) On parents, I believethey are happy when you are happy.. So be happy Am not sure if the people who are doingwhat they truly want and have no guilt or remorse are in question here..

REPLYAshtung PERMALINK

June 13, 2012 16:22I do not think of myself as being very bright and perhaps thats why I couldnt reallycomprehend the gist of the post or your reply to the question. Its probably the presentationof an IITians life as full of hypocrisy that made me believe so. From whatever little Iunderstood, I just want to point out that Im not trying to criticise the system but trying toaccept it as a brutal reality

About parents, I am happy when they are provided for and they are happy when I am..Endless loop So by doing something I do not particularly dislike, I can at least rest assurethat they are at peace

I again wonder if earning truckloads of money, through any legitimate means availabledoesnt qualify as a passion Even if it involves trying to get in to IIT when you are notparticularly fond of engineering.

REPLYAmit Deshwal PERMALINK*June 13, 2012 16:39

Am sorry, my reply was not articulate at all.. Here are 2 points Instead of accepting it as a brutal reality, we could also work to change it, if possible.

Yes of course earning truckloads could qualify as passion.. I wonder though that howmany people really look honestly and closely enough to see if the means are reallylegitimate in the true sense..

REPLYAshtung PERMALINKJune 13, 2012 18:07Thanks for clarifying I agree with the first one, although its to each his oneAs for the second part, innocent unless proven otherwise
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People, such as myself, do not really introspect as much as the world would like tobelieve

REPLYAshtung PERMALINKJune 14, 2012 01:49

Heres my take on the situation:

http://ashtung.blogspot.in/2012/06/giving-back.html

Raunak PERMALINKNovember 15, 2012 04:05@Ashtung: I would like to point out that earning truck load of money cannot be thepassion of someone..it can be a necessity or greed etc. but never passion. Confusing suchambition with passion is the kind of hollowness that Dr. Menon is talking about.

REPLY6. Mayank Sinha PERMALINK

June 13, 2012 14:47wowthat was nicetruthfully speaking the last part of the story is what scares me when ithink(or have thought) about it for myself

REPLY7. Ashish PERMALINK

June 13, 2012 15:10You write very nice english Fun aside you hit us humans at a place where it hurts the most. Youchallenge our morals and make mockery of our survival instincts while you act as a concave lens(with object kept before focal point). Well we all are animals and the world is no more different tha

it used to be 100 years from now. The philosophy about Knowing Thyself only guarantees a betterlevel of satisfaction as if you know before hand in a pitch dark room that the person you are havinsex with is Scarlet Johanson (read Mr Pitt is you are fairer & weaker). We eat, we breed & we die Charles Darwin plays us all along. It is hollow to assume we are better than what we actually are.We should accept what we are there is more dignity to it and move forward accepting them aspart of what we are to become what we want knowingly or unknowingly. The great universaltruths are embedded at the core of our genes. Our thoughts are just a projections of those universatruths in one of the dimension. I believe Indian philosophy would answer these questions moreexhaustively and in a far better way than the narrow western one. As for whitman he makes you

believe that you may contribute a verse but the moment you assign weight to your actions you

are no longer free from the disease that you want to get rid of. Well this is what I think at this spacand time projection of my genetic coding

REPLYAmit Deshwal PERMALINK*June 13, 2012 15:56

From where I stand today, I could not agree more to what you have said here As for whitmahe makes you believe that you may contribute a verse but the moment you assign weight toyour actions you are no longer free from the disease that you want to get rid of.
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REPLY8. PSR A PERMALINK

June 13, 2012 15:15Beautifully insightful.

REPLY9. Rahul PERMALINK

June 13, 2012 15:19Nicely written. Despite some great insights, I would however imagine that this article is a littlenegative. We cant generalize IITians into people who eventually become investment bankers orhold other plum jobs. How can we be sure that the scholars in the ancient universities did not usedeception to beat the system? Was education better a hundred years ago? An IITian is able to dopractically anything with excellence. Thats probably because they learn about excellence in theirendeavours to become engineers. Which is much better than learning, say thermodynamics.Ofcourse there is hypocricy, hollowness and a**holes in every system. But for that readers may

benefit from reading Abraham Lincolns letter all men are not just,all men are not true.

But teach him also thatfor every scoundrel there is a hero;that for every selfish Politician,there is a dedicated leaderTeach him for every enemy there is afriend, http://nyceducator.com/2005/12/abraham-lincolns-letter-to-his-sons.html

REPLY0. Kaushal Narayan PERMALINK

June 13, 2012 16:00

Wow! Simply Wow!

REPLY1. anon PERMALINK

June 13, 2012 17:25

Why single out IITs?Its not like that every MIT graduate has sound technical knowledge of every course he/she has evertaken and MIT students also enjoy this elite image (not that i am supporting it).

REPLY

2. Bhargav PERMALINKJune 13, 2012 18:27You forgot about BITS here ..

REPLY3. Sudharshan PERMALINK

June 13, 2012 20:25
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Brilliant article No question about that. Except I would like to point out this thing. The post herebelieve was a effect of some alumni asking the prof. about the new JEE. From my perspective itlooks like as thought the prof is giving this reply to all this alum and people who are concernedabout the change, or seem to be concerned or whatever IITns feel in general about themselves and

JEE. But the point is given the constraints its a system that works . and I dont understand whatthe prof.s stand regarding the same which is a genuine matter of concern, and to what effect andreason this post was made in the present scenario.

REPLY4. kasai PERMALINK

June 13, 2012 20:35

Respected Professor,

As you say, most of us(including you?) go through life following cultural and societal imperativeslike being polite, aspiring for a stable life, etc. But we do not condemn others who do the same. ThaSir, is something that you just did by calling thousands of other successful professionals and theifamily members hollow. By your own definition, I guess we can assume you are pretty hollow.

The issue of hollowness arises only when we miss the fact that we are practising hypocrisy as,for example, when we smile sweetly at certain individuals, and later stab them gleefully behindtheir backs. But if we catch our enemies at the same game against us, we would not hesitate tocondemn them, as righteously as possible.

The swipes you take at other professions by trivializing most of them must have definitely bloatedyour ego throughout your professional career. Somewhere I have the feeling that if engineers didtheir jobs better, a career in engineering would be more lucrative than selling soaps. Think about itif one soap was clearly better than the other then the focus would be on improving the quality of th

other soap rather than marketing it well. For eg. Samsung beat Nokia not because they sold theirsmartphones better but because they sold better smartphones. No wonder computer science andelectronics as career options are atleast as enticing as management.

If Professors focused more on research/ making good researchers rather than constantly taking digat selling soap you might not have to trivialize the lives of an ENTIRE GENERATION(or more?)

thank you

REPLY

5. ashwinknan PERMALINKJune 13, 2012 22:22Reblogged this on R FOR RANDOM and commented:Everyone is a hypocrite. And Everybody Lies.

REPLY6. Shyam krish PERMALINK

June 13, 2012 23:41
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Respected Professor,The article seems to so much of a fact without realizing why its happening in here. In class we aretaught portions which are also taught 10 years before. Academia expects students to learn latestproducts and application by themselves!

We learn good amount of math without much significance to real life applications. So at the end of4 years, students know more math, programming than real engineering which makes them best fi

in finance and management!When I say management, I meant the academic pressure in here compared to other collages

I dont think anyone can live with hollowness for more years. In fact most of them learn its a killerwhen they start mingling with groups and go ahead to creating a great companies in literally anyfield! Hollowness exists with those who never mingles and learns the world and happens with mostof the nerds.

I dont like to put any blames on anyone. But I feel its better to stop criticizing IIT students for notbeing in CORE engineering. If any interesting problem statement is given, I am sure all my friendwould have been in CORE engineering still.

Please have a broader view about life and consider interests might change for anyone!!

Thank you

REPLYVenkat PERMALINKJuly 14, 2012 23:05

Wow so we want to become great, core, unhollow, engineers with just a BTech degree!

Huhh!

REPLY7. Vishnu Nair PERMALINK

June 14, 2012 03:21

Cant believe it was written many years before, i guess history does repeat itself.

REPLY8. Mohit PERMALINK

June 14, 2012 13:11

Respected Sir,

How can you be sure what do you want to do with your life at the age of 16. You should beoptimistic not criticize the system for giving you the freedom to do whatever you want even after

joining IIT. It is not we who end up as bankers it is the people from the bank who employus(remember that). We should have the freedom of choosing whatever we want.

FYI , It is purely our qualities we pursue and implement at IITs that make us capable of evenworking in a bank not the brand name.
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REPLY9. Sagar Kamat PERMALINK

June 14, 2012 16:05Brilliant. Even though this is abt IITs, i think its true abt every Engineering College in India. Weseem to produce more MBAs than Engineers. People enter engineering with an eye set on career inmarketing and finance. And system doesnt do any better than to systematically kill interest in corengineering

REPLY0. Vishwa PERMALINK

June 14, 2012 16:25

I guess I am the odd one out. This article sounded like outlet of someone who is frustrated in notbeing able to control the flow of things around him. Devdas, as the name suits him, sounds like anidle philosopher who keeps ranting all day long.

He has chosen to be a hypocrite so makes it convenient to impose it on others too. Ignorance andhollowness know no bounds, as clearly illustrated by the article.

Just to point out on a simple line: In our heart of hearts, however, I suspect that we are actuallyenvious of these politicians. Am sorry but I cannot relate to it personally. I know there are manywho crib about politicians because they may be jealous of their power but some crusade againstthem in the right manner, best described by the sentence in votive not in vain, a line from V forVendetta. Rest of the article seems to follow suit.

I have gone through the 4 years in the manner he describes and may be there is something wrongwith that but thats hardly the larger picture. Maybe thats one way for an IITian to actuallyrealize once he gets out of the overprotective and pampering campus life to really understand his

real path in life. @Amit Deshwal: you are a good case in point.

Campus life is just part of growing up and it takes a lot of time to gain the real maturity to assessthe world around us. IITians are in their adolescence (the larger bachelor chunk at least) till theystep out and face the real world so being judgemental about college crowd is pathetic.

Very misleading and incredibly critical of things around him, I would like to know whether Devdahas anything to speak for himself.

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1. Anubhav PERMALINKJune 14, 2012 19:28Although this article smacks of huge generalizations,the students are not solely to be blamed. It isthe environment we grow up in and the circumstances we face that shape our life. And what iswrong in desiring a comfortable and secure life. I dont know why iitians are obligated to doengineering or win noble prizes!

REPLY2. Niraj PERMALINK

June 15, 2012 02:19
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Weird, so many people are here so missing the point. I am from an NIT mechanical engineeringand then joined the pride of Indian IT industry TCS. But the point prof is making (and quiterightly so) that I have never actually questioned why am I doing this? All of the complaints areabout the limitation posed by system which rewards IITians for just coming out of the IIT campus.But that doesnt mean you have to do it. You always have the option to refuse. I remember my owthoughts about mechanical engineering and how little I know about it when I was about to begin.And, yes there were moments when I was in love with the subjects I was being taught. But those

were like blips here and there. Largely it was an experience where we just moved from one semesteto another without bothering to pause and introspect. Of course I would have done the same thinghad I been selected in IIT. But I also remember how I was enchanted with physics before enteringthe college and how disappointed I was when I realised that in engineering I am going to see so littlof it. But it didnt matter back then. An engineering degree from NIT was going to help me buy th

best bread in market and so be it.

Just go back to newspaper of last month. This years IIT-JEE topper said in an interview that afterengineering he would like to complete management after all, management skills are so needed to

be successful in any field. Heres this guy, who knows little about engineering and management,

but he is sure of the golder career path of IIT-IIM dual degree. One can understand if one didnt likcomputer engineering and then chose to do management to change the field. But then there areloads of junta who jump out one campus to another, without bothering to find out whats it like towork as computer engineer. A real computer engineer.

No one is asking us to join IITs and no, thats not the only option. If you still want to join IIT, haveyour reasons to do so. and live in IIT for those reasons. Dont join IT industry just because of theeasy money ask your employer what is he going to make you do. and then ask yourself if youreally want to do that. If no, then is it really the last option in front of you.

And yes, I am a hypocrite. I knew of these questions and didnt ask them. If you ask me I will giveyou excuse of my background and same limited choice. But I know that I didnt even know the fulextent of choices available to me.

REPLY3. Debu PERMALINK

June 15, 2012 08:12Take a look at this video link, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2QgoaL0q-s, to see somethingdeeper that the prof. is pointing at.

REPLY4. Anand Mahale PERMALINK

June 15, 2012 18:58Its all truetill some extent!But where are those dreams which we saw as children of India and for India?(what are other indian resources to take if IITians dont go for other opportunities than core)Nice observation but still many parts of life are left by Professor. Definition of Knowledge andEDUCATION are given by some people who still doesnt have full knowledge of parameters of thesystem(world we live in). Who are this people trying to take control mentality of people?
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Where are the basic instincts of life (FOOD, SEX and SHELTER) and complete individual freedom(Physical and mental)?Some People lived in past..observed pastthought they understood the world.and here they are in society( POST MODERN which is called by other world)and trying to takecontrol of what is society doing.Its very clear that this people cant get this world completely and that hurts themselves more..They come to a conclusion of being something on own (probably a Buddha Follower) and hence

THEY CHOOSE THEIR HAPPINESS IN WHAT THEY DEFINE AND DO.Be whatever what you want.But dont leave the possibilities of creation and momentary happiness for which we do many thingin the world.Finally, we have to live in this world. So the basic fact of Survival which provokes us to take andseek Knowledge in this world of any kind and at any cost, is the Natures given thing.WHO is more Hypo-critic- the one who accepts thing in society and takes his path or the ones whofailed to analyse system and trying to seek something on its own

REPLY

5. Swetha PERMALINKJune 17, 2012 02:21

This is very true. And this freedom of choice extends far beyond just the right to choose whichinstitution. When my neighbours heard that I was opting to do Humanities after the 12th theyconsoled my mother on her daughters apparent stupidity and incapability. The fact that I had Ihad got into a very institution did not seem to matter only that I had not chosen to doengineering.In a system which doesnt allow you to see beyond the rigidly drawn lines of engineering and theIITs, I think conditioning would be more apt than than hypocrisy simply because hypocrisy impliethat the individual chose the IIT inspite of favouring other options. Today, the other options cease thold water. A truth that we need to recognise. And more importantly, the students who made it toengineering seats also need to realise. That there is more to here and now than engineering andmore importantly, money.

REPLY6. sudishamisra PERMALINK

June 19, 2012 18:25

One of the best articles that I have ever heard. Well done! Commendable!

REPLY7. Shambhu Singh PERMALINK

June 19, 2012 19:28

first for the previous comment which says something about how could a 16 year old know what hewant in lifemy argument is how could a 16 years know anything when all he knows is what hisparents wants him to know..try to break free ..and for the other one which says your priorities can change with timeif its happening than ur not really interested in something and u fit for being true hypocrite .this professor is pointing a good thing and i completely agree with @swetha that there is lot morethan engineering and money
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REPLY0. Chaitanya PERMALINK

June 26, 2012 02:00Hello Dr. Menon

Thanks for the wonderfully written article and (thanks others) for all the comments as well!

What next? I agree that some people might genuinely want to (and are making conscious efforts amuch as possible) to bring back education into this overly-hyped hollow system (all the eliteinstitutions of the country including IITs). Its so difficult to make a move with this kind of scenarioin place, but as Gandhiji said, Become the change you want to see in the world.

One of the aspects of this problem: Asking honest questions in the class is subtly suppressedstrongly due to variety of factors (people consider it as show off, people consider the student as adumb-ass etc. etc.)? This would have strong demotivating influence on the students coz thisinquisitive mentality is what instigates scientifically minded people to unravel the mysteries ofchosen problems etc.. promotes logical thinking and produces people who can systematically tackl

rigorous problems. There has to be room to encourage questions strongly (by introducingmeasures like awarding extra-points to those who ask meaningful questions well soundsstupid? Unfortunately, something like this its required to relieve the mental blocks of the students ithis highly-degraded system).

There are unlimited aspects to this problem that could be reasoned out by quality thought. I wouldsuggest everyone to contribute to a token of advancement to the system by implementing acorrective solution strategy for a chosen aspect of this problem in your own circle of influence aboueducating people (or in the educational institutions if possible). These kinds of practical steps dontrisk your jobs, but mean a lot to the developing of scientific mind-set for the students.

Thanks for all your cooperation to bring back life into our educational system!

Before I forget, I was also a student at IIT and trying to contribute my two cents to this meaningfuventure

Good luck all with your efforts for this higher cause and I hope that this would grow into a fire topromote the education system in the country.

Thanks!

REPLY1. cynic PERMALINK

November 8, 2012 16:01Its actually quite sad to read this article. You make it sound as if every last person shouldnt tryeach and every thing possible to ensure comfort for their future. As if passion alone is enough.Thatisnt the case. Never has and never will be. If you are passionate about music, the chances of you

being successful at it are minimal. If you enter a more organised field like technology at least yougot a fighting chance. Its not hypocritical, i think its rational. You can choose to struggle in a fieldwhere the numbers are against you or you can choose security. And lets take a deep look into
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Indian society. We have always loved security over adventure. Hence we still go for arrangedmarriages because we want the security of finding a mate no matter what. We dont go pursuingour passion and we dont go out looking for love again and again (like the americans ). Like it ornot, its just the indian thing no need to call it hollowits just our culture afterall..

REPLY2. Nikhil PERMALINK

November 8, 2012 23:42Dear Professor,

It is really disheartening to read your article. It not only hurts me as an IIT alumnus, but also makeme lose my faith on our greatest mentors: our teachers.

You ridicule us for being hypocritical and hollow throughout our lives and denounce us as selfishand corrupt individuals just because some of us have been able to attain successful lives byswitching our streams. All this without understanding the hollowness present in the system whichplays with our efforts and hardwork. Throughout your article, not once have you understood, leav

appreciate, the sacrifices we have made in our lives.

Right from our school time, we have to sacrifice our childhood and youth to mug upphy/chem/maths in order to clear JEE or risk being called mediocre and be underemployed. Beinga middle class, male, general candidate which most of us are, there is little opportunity that we canhope to have in any endeavour we take.

Even after clearing JEE, we are provided with a substandard education system where professors likyou only focus on evaluating the students on rote theories rather than imparting true learning. I donot even need to get started on the food and lodging facilities we are provided with.

When at the time of placements, we wish to apply our knowledge to our respective fields, we cannofind any opportunity. Any little opportunity that might exist somewhere in our Core fields willprovide us with compensations paltry for individual sustenance, let alone fulfil our parents dreamsand expectations or plan a future for ourselves.

When one has strived so much to prove himself to the society and received such heartless treatmenit only hurts an individual. And we endure this situation throughout our youth. In such a scenario,do not find it hypocritical when one slogs through worthless class tests, copies assignments orswitches to selling soaps if thats what helps one to adapt and survive, and maybe try to provide a

better old age for ones parents.

REPLY3. Prasoon PERMALINK

November 9, 2012 18:09I couldnt read the whole article (thoughts are so stereotyped, as per me) but couldnt stop fromforming a reaction. I think its mixing 2 different bags IITs and life and only attaching threadhappens to be hollowness !!! You mention the word Brand which stands irrespective of producingfraud engineers selling soaps. That must be something beyond hollow, unless of-course the idea ofbrand itself is hollow !! And making choices without taking a pause and thinking, that could be
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hollow, but thats how it is not just in IITs but in whole of the country, and in fact in whole world(some survey suggested ~95%+ people are not in the jobs they would want to be in). That wouldleave me to simple conclusion, the life and structure of existence itself at large is hollow, IIT ornot!!!

Cant stop quoting a line that our Director put during our orientations IITs are not meant to makeyou better engineers, any engineering college would do that; but to make you better professionals,

better humans (IIT-D, 2003). I think the promises were amply delivered. !!!!

REPLY4. Ankur PERMALINK

November 20, 2012 15:24

First of all awesome post. I am very happy to see people in academics who have grown up andmoved over from the 80 and 90s and seen the ugly truth. No one wants to be a engineer today

because they love it. Everyone wants to be a computer engineer because they think they are good maths physics and chemistry is an automatic indication that they will be a great software developeand to top it off after getting education from one of the best institution available all they want to do

is get an MBA because IIT + IIM means $$$$.

I am currently pursuing my masters here in US in computer science and my undergrad was inElectrical Engineering. First when I wanted to do my undergrad in computer science I couldntqualify for computer science because of average marks in chemistry during the entrance examswhich is an excellent metric to define a student having terrific potential as a software developer. BuI struggled and got into a US university for my Masters and I reach here and see the classes floodewith Indian who have next to no interest in Computer Science. They are just here to earn moremoolah. They will work as Walmart sales person if they pay more than a software startup.

But you know what India should stop defining itself with IIT and IIM students. Try to paint a prettpicture of development and prosperity with these people as poster child. Make people realize thathow hollow their life is (The hollow part was the best).

Like Bill Maher says everyone should understand that being a millionaire and billionaire is not asign of happiness. Satisfaction and internal happiness is.

P.S I am not trying to generalize all IIT students(for IIM the jury is still out). Some of them arereally committed to real learning (not book learning) and love to do what they do. The mostglorious example in my lifetime is of one of my school senior, 12 AIR took Chemical Engineering in

IIT Powai when he could have taken anything.

REPLY5. miu miu PERMALINK

November 7, 2013 07:32

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