I want to be an ‘IDIOT’

Aamir Khan, Sharman Joshi and Madhavan have returned back to recreate the magic that earlier drew audiences to ‘Rang De Basanti’. After being rebels against the system in RDB…the trio is now IDIOTS in another system…i.e. our education system. I always await an Aamir Khan movie, this time more so because it came from RajKumar Hirani…the man who gifted cine-goers with Munnabhai’s ‘Jadu Ki Jhappi’. And the wait was worth it. Three Idiots is a must watch and I recommend it to all those who have not seen it. Don’t miss the chance people!

Three Idiots is loosely based on Five Point Someone (since I read the book years back, I am unable to recollect how much similar it is!). It is a movie which is critical of the current education system of our country. Some days back, I read an edit page article by Chetan Bhagat wherein he described and scrutinized the status of our education system. Three Idiots says it more simplistically though. There is a major and immediate need of an overhaul in the way education is being imparted.

Nothing was different in my case as shown in Madhavan's character. I completed my 12th in Science (I was expected to take up this stream because I was a high scorer in 10th!). My choices were different though. I would have preferred taking up either humanities or social sciences. But not many options were available in these streams some years back. I decided I had to shift my stream after 12th…I would have been a disaster in engineering or medicine. Like Madhavan’s parents in the film, my parents were also keen that I take admission in some ‘Professional’ course (to this date, I fail to understand the difference between professional and non-professional courses…and why this distinction?? Are all courses other than medicine, engineering and management non-professional? Does it imply that artists, actors, labourers, musicians etc are only-professional???)

I persisted with my passion and took up Social Sciences in the Faculty of Arts! Arts in general and Social Sciences in particular, according to me, are the most challenging and intellectually stimulating subjects to study. Yet, in our country, it is believed that you take up Arts only if you are the dumbest student around and you have nothing else left to choose from. I excelled because I chose what I liked and followed by passions. After this I took up Journalism and Mass Communication and the two years I spent doing my post-graduation were also the ones during which I learnt and developed my skills the most.

I think Three Idiots teaches us some important things!

•Follow your passions. Do what you like and do it the best. Nobody can judge you better that your own self. If you don’t get what you want, keep trying and if you still don’t succeed, be a rebel…!!!
•Don’t be disillusioned if you are not a part of the ‘elite institution class’ like IIMs, IITs. You can not be a part of them and still be good. (This is what I feel after studying at M.S.University).
•Don’t measure success by the marks and grades you get. They are irrelevant. Measure your success in terms of how much you can contribute to your society and your country with the help of your skills.
•There is no job in the world which does not deem respect. Even as the world needs doctors, journalists and bankers…it also needs labourers, sweepers, industrial workers etc. Each job has a different set of required skills and that is why there is a unique person to accomplish it.
•Make good friends in life. You will lose everything but friends will always be besides you!
•And Three Idiots in no way suggests that studying is not important! It just depicts how rote learning and learning without any understanding can be a big pain. So do not neglect studies. Pursue them with all your heart.

An IDIOT is one who is usually considered to be a good for nothing and is branded a failure in life. But if chasing excellence leads me to success, then I certainly want to be an IDIOT.

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