Celebrating Mediocracy

Beginning of the year 2012.Various magazines and points of sale began flashing the bestsellers of 2011. The category of books had a runaway success story. The one loosely based on the topic du jour - the rampant corruption system in the Indian educational scenario but more strongly based on the besieged life of a lower than lower middle class Indian, his IIT ambitions and the love tangle that he gets involved in. It was not a revolution – definitely not in the spaces of language, plot and character development and in just about any face that would vaguely transform a book into a good one.  Written in a ‘functional language’ with a capability of nothing more than driving the point across, the book managed to wakeup throngs of teenagers from their slumber. To them, the author is a brand that that they swear by, a brand that inspires them through a clever story and a young language abundant with ‘fuck’, ‘suck’, ‘fine’ and ‘whatever’. The author, though guilty is not the primary culprit.

The genre of music too has one undisputed emperor. With more than ten million youtube hits and many ‘best song’ awards in the kitty, this murderous attempt at composition had definitely managed to get the youngsters hooked to it. But, differentiating a good piece of music from a bad one is far easier. One’s sensibilities never fail. But then, ‘Herd Mentality’ too, is not an unproven psychological theory. Driven by insecurity & the constant desire to be a part of the mob (read cool crowd), populace seldom acknowledges its real opinions, lest it be called an old fashioned fool. So India loved it, and shared it, believing strongly that the rest of India worshipped it too. Few knew that this by itself was a skilfully played marketing tactic, the story of which can form an interesting case study on viral marketing dissected expertly by a handful Indians within the four walls of a classroom. Whatever said and done, ultimately India loved (or) believed that it adored a composition with a nonsensical ‘spur of the moment’ lyrics, an average, below than ordinary tune, a rusty, definitely not mellifluous voice and a package that is unquestionably incapable of stimulating & provoking the souls within. The composer, singer & even the viral marketing pundits, though guilty are not the primary culprits.

Where ever one goes, be it the prestigious universities tutoring Engineering, the lavish cinema halls screening blockbusters or the hospital down one’s street , quality and standards of both the physical and more importantly the intellectual infrastructure are much below the accepted norms. Go back a few years in time and try replaying the teaching methodologies adopted in your school. I would be surprised if any of us actually touched and felt an apple & a ball whilst learning the customary ‘A for Apple, B for Ball’ mantra from the books. Forget experimenting with & bringing to life the more complicated chemical compounds & mathematical formulae;  and the simple fact that you are accessing internet & reading this blog would put you & your school in the top 10 percentile of the country. Better not to imagine the plight of the rest of India. Few protest, quite some regret, but many are satisfied with all that they get.

Below is a set of illustrations from the World Bank reports : 

% of GDP Expenditure on Primary Education 

% of GDP Expenditure on R&D

% of Urban Population with access to improved Sanitation

It can be clearly seen that the percentage of GDP expenditure in some of the basic aspects like education & sanitation are highly incomparable. Though the policy makers at the helm are guilty, they are not the primary culprits.
There is no point in blaming the ministers of education & sanitation, the authors, the film makers or the musicians, for our lack of competency on a global stage & our general incapability to garner awards such as a Nobel Prize in physics, a Booker prize, an 

Oscar or a Grammy.

The problem lies with the individual & his intentions. The DNA of most Indians have replicated in such a manner that they tend to be happy & satisfied with any input & output. In fact, the highest degree of achievement is seen with the availability of an answer rather than the depth of the same. Inquisitives seems to be diminishing, wanting to explore & seeking to learn ‘continuously’ are never on priority. The lack of realization that one cannot master anything & that learning is a process requiring constant effort having no threshold is what is allowing Mediocracy to rule the roost.

Constant restlessness in subject of choice, be it science, art or dance can aid. Constant learning, practicing could help. The solution does not lie elsewhere; evoking the soul within, pursuing or rather raising the bar of excellence & chasing perfectness can bring about a dramatic change.

And when this happens, the quality of top-sellers would be of a different league altogether.