Profession and Hobby ;
Wife and Girlfriend
Wife and Girlfriend
When I entered Engineering College Jabalpur in 1967, my room mate was Akash (name changed). Akash’s parents were settled at Jabalpur, though he choose to be in the hostel. Somehow, he kept struggling to clear the first year, while the batch moved on. After three years of struggle, he took a transfer to an engineering college in another town of MP, but the ill-luck continued, as we came to know. Around 1982, I was posted to Jabalpur and visited his parents. When enquired about Akash, I was pleasantly surprised (‘shocked’ would be better!). His mother asked me, “Don’t you know, he is having a good medical practice in USA?” It transpired that, after a struggle in engineering for almost 5 years, he decided to appear in an All India Exam for entrance in a US Medical college, did very well and was then practicing as a doctor in America!
Imagine the hard toil, the frustration he would have faced trying to make a mark in a field which was NOT HIS. Yes, he was fortunate (may be courageous) to take up a medical exam but how many of us would do that? They may never know their true direction! How many square pegs are there in round holes?
An interesting story appeared in newspapers in the last week of Jun, 2003. Two sisters from a small town in Maharashtra were separated when the younger one was only 6 months and the older 7 years old. Younger one was adopted from a orphanage by a Spanish couple and settled at Barcelona. She had flair for writing and wrote a popular book on child adoption. This book was chosen for a movie to be made and this girl, 28 now, was also selected for the lead role. While in India for the movie production, she searched around for her roots. Finally, she met her sister. When she met her sister after 28 years, the later was literally cutting grass in a village! That was her profession. One can imagine the contrast it would have made - a worldly-wise sister in modern attire while the other cutting grass!
A word on the Personality Development theories here. Despite of differences of opinions, most theories agree that heredity is the most important determinant of a personality. In other words, in our story the elder, “grass-cutter”, sister would also have had the talent to write a popular novel or to act in a movie. Only she would not have ever known it!!! All her life she would have been cutting grass without knowing her potential. The other sister had the environment and opportunity and may have reached her potential to a fair degree.
That makes us think how many of us are in the “grass cutting” mode?? How many of us would never know what we are really capable of and, not knowing this, would keep revolving in the current mundane orbit till we decay rather than jumping with additional energy to the next exciting one.
If only these expensive private schools could tell me, with a fair degree of accuracy, what is the right field for my child, a great load off my head would be taken care of. Presently, they may tell me, “no, your child is not good enough for mathematics”, but wouldn’t tell me, “his right field would be Law/Literature/R & D/Military/Sports etc.’. Unfortunately, he has to learn this by trial and error. Like many, he may never know what he was ideally suited for.
Consequently, many of us are working in the fields were we have no interest at all. That adage, “your hobby and your profession should be same”, is only in the books for many.
On schools taking the lead, I am reminded of our army training at Officers Training School, Chennai. Before opting for a particular corps/service, we were given educating as well as interesting lectures by the senior officers of those departments, letting us know what to expect, why their corps/service is better.
For this to happen, first the staff in the schools/institutions should have a fair idea what is expected of the students to be in a particular field. Psychological tests may be required for the various major fields and the psychologists to advise. They may also like to engage the experts in various major areas to brief the passing out students on what to expect from the field of their expertise.
Imagine the hard toil, the frustration he would have faced trying to make a mark in a field which was NOT HIS. Yes, he was fortunate (may be courageous) to take up a medical exam but how many of us would do that? They may never know their true direction! How many square pegs are there in round holes?
An interesting story appeared in newspapers in the last week of Jun, 2003. Two sisters from a small town in Maharashtra were separated when the younger one was only 6 months and the older 7 years old. Younger one was adopted from a orphanage by a Spanish couple and settled at Barcelona. She had flair for writing and wrote a popular book on child adoption. This book was chosen for a movie to be made and this girl, 28 now, was also selected for the lead role. While in India for the movie production, she searched around for her roots. Finally, she met her sister. When she met her sister after 28 years, the later was literally cutting grass in a village! That was her profession. One can imagine the contrast it would have made - a worldly-wise sister in modern attire while the other cutting grass!
A word on the Personality Development theories here. Despite of differences of opinions, most theories agree that heredity is the most important determinant of a personality. In other words, in our story the elder, “grass-cutter”, sister would also have had the talent to write a popular novel or to act in a movie. Only she would not have ever known it!!! All her life she would have been cutting grass without knowing her potential. The other sister had the environment and opportunity and may have reached her potential to a fair degree.
That makes us think how many of us are in the “grass cutting” mode?? How many of us would never know what we are really capable of and, not knowing this, would keep revolving in the current mundane orbit till we decay rather than jumping with additional energy to the next exciting one.
If only these expensive private schools could tell me, with a fair degree of accuracy, what is the right field for my child, a great load off my head would be taken care of. Presently, they may tell me, “no, your child is not good enough for mathematics”, but wouldn’t tell me, “his right field would be Law/Literature/R & D/Military/Sports etc.’. Unfortunately, he has to learn this by trial and error. Like many, he may never know what he was ideally suited for.
Consequently, many of us are working in the fields were we have no interest at all. That adage, “your hobby and your profession should be same”, is only in the books for many.
On schools taking the lead, I am reminded of our army training at Officers Training School, Chennai. Before opting for a particular corps/service, we were given educating as well as interesting lectures by the senior officers of those departments, letting us know what to expect, why their corps/service is better.
For this to happen, first the staff in the schools/institutions should have a fair idea what is expected of the students to be in a particular field. Psychological tests may be required for the various major fields and the psychologists to advise. They may also like to engage the experts in various major areas to brief the passing out students on what to expect from the field of their expertise.
Till it happens, system will run as it is. Permit me to close on a quote. Get married to your girlfriend, if feasible. If not, for whatever reasons, make your wife your girlfriend. That is, make your hobby your profession. If you can’t for whatever reasons, make your profession your hobby. (Not the way depicted in the following cartoon.)
He is never in the office! Since the other day, the speaker said that one should make his hobby his profession or, if not should make his profession his hobby. Surely, Mr. Rao is actually taking his profession as his hobby, coming to office at his own sweet time!
Hope you are the fortunate one to have your hobby as your profession!
PD
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