Another RANT: The Story of Indian Students
Posted by Prashanth | Filed under Education, FIITJEE Pinnacle, Headshot, School Life
Really, the present happenings across my (older) peers’ lives sends jolts of electricity making all hair on my rise up, and has all the hairless parts goosebumped! In another few months, fate would get me close to something like this. It really makes me uncomfortable looking at people whom I thought were of the deserving kind in a helpless state. Really, Indian Education system makes beggars out of the brightest minds in the country.
Caution: You might see this post the same way you usually see rants on most other Indian blogs, especially on those run by students who are going through the toughest examinations in the world… Or you might see it as another perspective, another unique opinion, or perhaps something a degree lesser than a consolation to all those who have gone crazy in ranting so vehemently not just on their blogs, but in those phone calls better used as ventilators, those conversations which could more or less be addressed as punches on a rice sack or maybe those moments spent in Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt…
Here it goes…
Thinking in depth about everything, education in India lacks the 3 big M(s)… Money, Mindset and Modernisation. These things are barely enough to bring out just a few hundred successful professionals each year with a potential of several million. lack of money is a big problem in itself. Lack of money means so many things… lack of good colleges, lack of sufficient infrastructure in those colleges, or even lack of good teaching faculty in the colleges. The few institutes which DO get money don’t stand up anywhere when compared to the international institutes. Honestly speaking, it is just the maddening admission intake ratio or you might say the filtering process with the least porous membrane that gets nothing but the best inside. Maybe it is the general intellect of the students which gets IITs in the top 100 ranks of the world.
How does this effect India? Due to the lack of quality institutes, the success or the money making tendency of students is concentrated in just a few camps. Because opportunities are so few, and everyone in the populous of a billion odd people have big dreams, especially most literate ones, attachment towards studies is totally lost. Actually, studying is something someone OUGHT to do in order to earn enough to meet the family standards, which disproportionately grows with the country’s average income. The result – desperation,hunger and a famine like state with people craving for drops of those few seats which can mean the difference between owning a 100cc bike and luxury car in India.
There is this trend in India that makes money vending machines to placed in just certain fields. Like for instance, this particular hour has the management guys making the most out of the lot. A few years ago, it was the rapidly growing software engineering industry (which are mostly test centers or menial job sites for the world’s largest software MNCs) that got maximum professionals. All this leads to narrowing down what a student might want to do. Now everyone I know wants to go for the management side after the COMPULSORY engineering course. After all, everyone worries about FUD. With an Engg. degree in hand, he is ready to mint quite a bit, just in case management, which requires any damned degree as a pre-requisite doesn’t work out. The slightly under-exposed or the innocent sort speak what they have in mind… “It would give me better placement!”. The smarter ones, who know people or critics like me are around, fake or artificially create interest towards management. In reality, it is that very interest that the Indian students have lost. Money can actually buy everything, even interest. If a child confesses that he is not interested in Engg., the family and the brigade of relatives have him hypnotized into being interested in that subject.
Really, I know so many people, even upcoming software engg., who don’t have a crumb of interest towards their subject finally ending up as professionals for Indian counter-parts of well-known corporations really complacent about getting a job that pays them a tenth of a million rupees. People fail to realize that it might be a lot when seen in Indian standards, but then it is cheap labour for companies like MS, which would get those drudging jobs else where at a higher rate. Indians have lost choice, taste and the will to opt for what they really desire. Socio-economic conditions keep true interests confined inside, and the worst part being that the student never even realizes that he inside a fake world world which he didn’t actually desired to design. He has a fake illusion of happiness and satisfaction which finally removes feelings like – “Am I going to do this for the next 30 years of my life?” nurturing similar mentality in the next generation as well. The children of the so-called big professionals in India grow up to be in a similar race for trophie made up of anti-matter called success. Its a vicious loop that has to be stopped, and it is not really impossible to accomplish that.
Solutions can be many -
*Availability of greater number of universities
*Larger allocation of budget for higher education
*Competence amongst Indian colleges to go ahead of others in the world
*More diverse corporations basing themselves in India
*Corporations giving out large scale projects amidst Indian minds which are more than capable to create things, provided aptitude is generated at an early age
Aptitude comes during high school, when the student dreams. Dreams can be closer to reality than anyone might think. Dreaming, pondering is an activity that can lead students to dig and know more about what they might be doing in the future. Here, immature kids at the age of 18, who know just a little more than the placement opportunities in different fields decide what they could be doing for the next 42 years of their life. Coming to think about it, how much does an average student know about what exactly happens in in any stream of engineering that he might enroll himself in? How does he know that he is interested in it? Actually, Indians don’t need to know that. It’s almost like choosing what pays the most here. Finally, what you get to see here is brainy kids turning into menially productive mugpots, in time-lapse cinematography. And frankly speaking, I really don’t enjoy any bit of that show…
Quizzing Ideas from a Total Rookie at Quizzes…
Posted by Prashanth | Filed under Education, General, Headshot, It's My Life, Quizzing, Readable Enough, School Life, Technology
Right, I just don’t think I am the kind of person who should be referred to for any kind of advice on quizzing, but then since blogs are meant for free speech, I won’t hesitate to blurt things out from my totally arrogant, blatant and erratic opinion!
I basically thought of writing this post when I saw a Great Quizzard coming up with a post on quizzing which didn’t quite digest completely in my tummy. Although I wouldn’t entirely disagree to it, but then I have something different below. I want people to read what really matters in quality quizzing, and not how to ‘prepare’.
Another incident was an inspiration too. On my way to Access, while I hitchhiked the DPS RKPee’s Exunclan’s bus, I mingled along with cute-little kids ranging from class 6th-8th ‘preparing’ for the cadet/sub-junior quizzes. Their method of preparation was what that shocked me the most. These kids were literally cramming up databases ripped off from Wikipedia amongst other places! If just looking at it in kids wasn’t enough, even the seniors in class 11th were mugging in the identical printouts. If this is how Exun trains its future quizzers who are more crammy than passionate about tech quizzing, I am sorry at the clan’s very future (which shows no traits of the kind of people who got Exun to the stage where it is now), really looks dull! Anyway, can’t blame them too, our tech quizzes are becoming more or less tests of grunt mechanical knowledge like acronyms, directly referring to the names of CEOs of corporations, etc… I would just start off this post with one big statement – A quizzer cannot be prepared/trained for any quality quiz in a limited time span.
Quizzing, according to me is something very few people can excel at. The knack for doing well in quizzes is something people just get naturally. It isn’t something that can be developed. People with interest, time and patience but not this so-called God-gifted aptitude can never do well in quizzing even if they have read the entire wikipedia article archive! Quizzers can never be self-made, they can only be self-enhanced. If you have never given your shot at quizzing, or you plan to, just try looking at the following aspects about a good quizzer, his thinking and his so-called ‘gifted abilities’… If you seem to have them, chances are that you would do well in in the current trend in quizzing. 
Thinking…
A quizzer’s observational abilities are a part of his second instinct. A quizzer involuntarily looks at everything around him differently. Like if he visits a shopping mall, he tends to find shops that he wants without reading text on sign boards. That’s because he remembers the logos of international franchises and can locate their flashy logos from anywhere. He does this because he has previously been to a (similar) mall before, not necessarily the same one!
A quizzer has exceptional co-relation abilities. I might refer to it with a little exaggeration metaphorically as the Sherlock Holmes’s thought. A quizzer need not know too much about stuff around him, but ability to co-relate knowledge from multiple sources to come up with a concrete answer is what can make good quizzer. Guessing correctly is one the quizzer’s biggest assets. Hunches just don’t come up, they are a result of very complex efforts to retrieve data from co-relative database.
Like for example, one of my personal experiences,
“Which musician started up a venture called Elevation-Partners?”
Now, I have zilch information about the affairs in the music industry. But then one thing I know is that “Elevation” is a hit track by the (un)popular band, U2. I couldn’t really come up with a better relation the somewhat connects a musical group with the title Elevation, expecting it to be a result of achievements in the band’s career. I also knew the name of just one member of the band U2, Bono. I gave that as the answer, and expectedly, turned out to be right!
Take another one as an example, this one doesn’t give good result with the Jugaad!
“The churchbells at Maranello are rung on what special occasions?”
The only place where I remember reading the word Maranello is on a Formula-1 speedster decal belonging to Ferrari. Assuming the place to be of special importance to the car company, Ferrari, I pick up the following hunches…
- Whenever Ferrari pushes out a new car… Nah, too often!
- On Enzo Ferrari’s (founder of Ferrari) B’Day… Maybe…
- Whenever it wins a Formula-1 championship… Maybe…
And now, after neglecting a few more good guesses, I give out my answer as Enzo’s B’Day! That’s actually the wrong answer and the correct answer is what I had thought, they ring the bells on a victory in a Grand Prix.
As you can see, not knowing things won’t put you in trouble, but clever observation and good co-relation accompanied with intelligent guesswork can save you in a fix. Good quizzes usually test this ability rather than grunt knowledge like “What’s the height of the Qutab Minar?”…
Good English and Lingual Ability…
Watching movies and speaking more than two languages can be a great asset to all quizzers. More than that, being aware of a few terms common between languages especially English can be neat tool in hand. Quite a few questions in quizzes can be solved by the use of grammar and language-syllable co-relation. Like for example,
“ Example – In France, archers were trained with the help of of target boards having concentric circles. The smallest one was in the centre and was coloured in white. The archers used to aim at that and eventually learn the tricks of the bow and arrow. Which term, now in frequent use was adapted by such a process?”
Most would give the answer as Bullseye, but then a bull’s eye is neither white, nor it fits well into this situation. The correct answer is Point Blank. Blanc is the french word the refers to the colour white. I feel that this was a workoutable question!
This very skill applies even more to solving crosswords. Like one of the clues that I came across was -
“ Example – Matt works like a menial worker and writes reports…”
the answer is Drudge Report, a popular site founded by a guy name Matt ‘Drudge’. And drudging means menial labour. This could have been figured in multiple ways, of which the grandest in my opinion would be using English language and filling up the grid! Plus, when you solve questions using such methods on stage while loud thinking, you win loads of respect from the audience as well as the quizmaster. Trust me on this one! Personal experience… 
There are quite a few questions where you are asked to deduce something about a thing/place/person, (especially historical or mythological) named in some regional language. Such questions can be deduced from pronunciation, vernaculars in derivative languages or just by plain awareness.
Example – “In the Mughal Court, a jester /minister once came up with a very innovative idea. He was appreciated so much that his name is now used in everyday language to signify something brilliant. What could have been his name?”
The answer is ‘Shabhaash“, a term frequently used in Hindi to appreciate someone. As you can see, more than knowing etymology, its presence of mind that matters in cut-throat quizzes like the Columban Open.
Many at times, being aware of common catch-phrases in use can be very helpful in quizzes. Reading more things for the sake of the reading pleasure and not forcefully to find/locate/learn catch-phrases is what can help here.
Being Passionate about everything you do…
The problem I see in most people coming to tech quizzes is that they are never passionate about quizzing. Just cramming up stuff doesn’t help. You should ‘feel’ technology more than anything else. there should be a desire from within to know more on things. Desire, interest and ability to grasp can be referred to in one catch-phrase as Aptitude with Attitude (AWA) is something that cannot be generated in everyone. In people compatible, one of the ways to do that is just show them new things that give them that ‘Wow’ feel. Watching documentaries on diverse topics can lead to production of interest. Whenever I read about some award winning documentary/dramatization somewhere on something that I am not aware of, I still look forward to it coming on television. Example: Motorcycle Dairies, courtesy Uma! I just watch the documentary for the sake of interest generation. Even after watching the documentary halfway and finding out that it is not on something in my cup of tea, I continue to watch it observing things in the background, or the way it was shot, or the shoot locations or anything. Most often or not, this generates interest in thinkers like me! More than being passionate about quizzing, you should be that for everything that you experience in life.
The Wiki way to Quizzing applies for those who would be executed in case they don’t win some quiz in the next 5 months. Not for those who would like to have the quizzer’s own distinct personality. General browsing through varied sites out of personal interest, work, or any other reason and observation in a long term gives a person that unique aura that good quizzers possess!
Moral of the story…
A quizzer cannot be created by mugging up different databases like Manorama or in a recent case, Wikipedia articles. Good quizzes never ask you the capital of Albania, which I am quite sure many good quizzers reading this post aren’t aware of!
To be a good quizzer, you should have the mindset compatible with the skills mentioned above. Above all, he should be involved in everything. Knowledge just doesn’t come from newspapers and Wikipedia, but from inconspicuous sources like Movies, Music, or even stuff that we relax with, say TV Shows or Novels. Its just the way you look at things and keep things in mind. Also, a quizzer never does all this willingly or by force, its his second instinct. A good quizzer is never a crammer!
Example – “The seven forms of which martial art are Shii-Cho, Makashi, Soresu, Ataru, Shien and Niman Juyo?”
In the real quiz we heard the name of every famous martial art from Ju-Jitsu to Kung-Fu, but then the answer is Lightsabre Combat in the Star Wars series. Top-notch quizzes can test our capacity to recollect from the most unprobable of sources. Basically, they test the efficiency of your keyword input and search engine skills. Being Google is what can make you say “Yahoo!” in quizzes.
Reading newspapers, magazines, online journals and stuff can take you a step further in increasing your knowledge database. But intelligent thinking and calculated hunches play a greater role IMHO in quality quizzes I had been exposed to in the past year. Usually, the answers to many questions is something you have heard about in the past, or something very common about worldly stuff. So the first step in Jugaad thinking should be trying to co-relate answers within your database, or in other words, a keyword search across your index!
Keep in mind that quizzes are not a test of how many databases you must have gone through in the past month, year or whatever, but a test showcasing all the activities you have been exposed to in you ENTIRE LIFETIME. Being called a quizzer doesn’t refer to his domain of ’skill’ as say an Engineer. What it refers to is, his very personality that makes him compatible enough to be involved in activities quite diverse in nature. You can generally observe this trait in almost all Great Quizzards! 
finally got a direction 4 ma carrier,,,,,,,,,part-2 of our...
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