Priorities

 What matters? Some assignment completed as best as is possible within the given framework, and despite all the possible lacunae? Or is it the different politicking groups and their possible interests that get  prioritised? From gulley to Dilli, from academics, from the art world to politics, that is the question!

In my opinion, as per the honest, humane, ideal principles, the assignment excellently done with thorough professionalism matters THE MOST. That is my priority in everything I would do. Believe me though, often very many difficulties would get built up as barriers. Some would be visible, others subtle, and therefore more (deceptive and) dangerous!

May I give an example, or two? What should be the priorities of college students? Learning? These days the common man does not think so! The other day the auto fellow whose auto I was riding was honking ten times. But students would not budge. 

He got irritated. Thus started his tirade. "पढ़े लिखे गंवार (=educated fools). पढ़ते कहां?(= When do they learn?) इन्हें तो सिर्फ मौजमस्ती करनी है!(They ONLY want fun and enjoyment!)" That made me think. What should be a student's priority? Enjoy studies, too! Unfortunately, that is a very rare case. 

Give your students genuinely tough assignments that make them think, ideate, re-search, ask them to read at least the basic texts. They would hate you like hell. Ask them to dance, sing, collect trivia, put up stalls. Oh, so very creative, no?!? Studies actually mean learning to learn, and for a lifetime so that whenever any problem crops up, you can enter the solution mode, right? 

Students have their own issues, too. Now with the "autonomous" colleges/universities mushrooming everywhere, students feel that most teachers do not conduct lectures, do not bother to complete the portions as the question papers are set by teachers themselves, and so cover just the portion they might have bothered to teach! Why, once a librarian was complaining that the guide books of the Nirali Publication variety are considered textbooks by teachers! 

 I would not know the truth of either statement because I teach the portions to the very last detail, from the first abc to the last xyz, and I have never used a guide even as a student. Apparently though, those are the priorities today. Yes, marks, moreover, are distributed like bird seeds.

 I indeed know of teachers who give 9/10 to students for subjects like 'Literary Criticism'. The problem would be that the students could not correctly spell 'Plato' (Pluto was the favourite) or 'Sidney' (Sydney was the choice)! They would make  'Aristatl' (Aristotle, please) blush. No better is the fate of Sanskrit/Indian criticism, incidentally!

Yet another issue that often crops in such debates is how some artist gave up medicine or engineering, and chose to become an actor by following his passion. Many students believe this myth! How many of such types have succeeded? What would be the percentage? May be, one? Tops ten? How about the ninety who perished? Rhetoric as empty as possible is the priority for many!

To begin with, why should sports stars or film stars be held as national heroes?  Incidentally, their actual work profile is excrutiatingly tough, too. Yet much much tougher would be the work of a scientist, researcher, doctor, right? When such people are appreciated, a very optimistic, genuine work ethic would emerge. Who cares though? Remember the irritated Spanish doctor who asked COVID patients to consult Ronaldo, the football player, constantly feted and  paid crores for a ninety minutes team event!

Whenever hence people crib that students do not get jobs, I always think to myself if a student wants to gear herself/himself for that profile at all?!?They want to 'chill', 'to enjoy' as the auto fellow said. College is the 'katta' (canteen or some such place)! 

Can we be creative if we do not know the basic principles, the very methodique of thinking? For creating/thinking uniquely, differently, you must know the basic principles, the existing paradigms, right? Otherwise, creativity dwindles down to a trashy copy of Bollywood fashions and the so-called event management which at the bottom is deadly boring because it is the same old games, same silly jokes, and the same awful/trashy dance grooves!

Ah, that reminds me. Ask any committed dancer, musician, painter, author, any artist for that matter, how tough creativity is, how much genuine and hard work is involved in attaining excellence. That is why all the star performers of this or that reality show, however much tom-tomed, are nowhere after that particular season is 'over'. All is stage-managed, strings are pulled, all sorts of compromises are okay, it seems! What is the end result? Tawdry tinsel success!

So what do people do, if they cannot be creative? Terrible and ugly groupism, petty politicking, gossiping, and creating all sorts of seen and unseen barriers for genuine people! We have, moreover, our caste system to come to our aid, whenever issues get tacky/tricky! 

If a doctorate degree holder in Spanish, for  example, some fifteen years after the celebrated degree, cannot write or speak a single correct sentence in Spanish, how fake it is, right, whichever caste he/she belonged to or however poor her/his family was!!?!!!

 Okay, childhood was tough. What happened after a cushiony job was created for such a candidate? What has such a person been doing for the last fifteen years? What was his/her priority once he/she completed a Ph. D. , and got a cushy job? Why not work on one's basic Spanish, improve it at least after, if not before or during, the doctorate?

 Do such candidates accept lower pay because their basic hold over the subject is poor or non-existent? No way! Every single 'pai' would matter!And, yes, far far better and superior students suffered similar, why, worse problems due to caste discrimination, or getting sidelined for a job due to caste!!!

That brings us back to priorities. Such people would keep tab on others, even through students in each batch! What with mobiles, they would find out the resources others use. Well, right now, the world is bursting with resources of all sorts. What matters is not which material, but who uses it, and how!

Unfortunately, sadly such politicking, groupism, gossiping, harassment of the worst kind are the priorities now. What with technologies becoming better by the second, are these age-old priorities right though? Honestly, people are not getting jobs not because of X or Y,  this or that, government, but frankly because they are not ready... to leave their ancient priorities!

Pratima@"The root of productivity is in personal priorities," says Melissa Steigner.