The Young Guns of India

Yes this title is taken from one of my favourite movies, and like that movie, this blog is dedicated to the generation next or the Young India as its being termed now. A couple of days back I was reading the results of a survey on the youth in different parts of the world on a website. It mentioned that the Indian youth were the happiest, focused on work and the most optimistic about the future as compared to the youth of the rest of the world. The survey ironically was done by a Swedish agency.

Then a couple of days back the Indian cricket team won the world cup. Well the cricket team features yet again, but this time it’s not cynicism, but pure admiration for the way they won the cup. They were fearless, brave, calm and played like a team after a long time. It was pure joy to watch the semi-finals and the finals (courtesy the internet and cricinfo), though I didn’t think I would survive the heart attacks that I almost got!! It was more special since we put the Aussies at their place and a win against Pakistan is always special (looks like that record will take a while to break). The celebrations all across the country are warranted for, as the cup comes to us after 24 years, and no one really knows when the next time will be. It’s a pity that I am far away from all the fun in India, and have given up on explaining to the Swedes, the part that cricket plays in our lives!!

A lot has been said about Dhoni, and the team playing fearlessly, enjoying what they do and not being bogged down by the past etc, and I find no sense in repeating it here. To me it’s a reflection of how “Young India” is. And I see it everyday, especially now that I am here in Sweden and I can appreciate the difference between the youth of the two countries and hence two very different cultures. People here get surprised when my colleagues and I (all below 30) talk to them about various aspects of business and get involved in decision making. They cannot imagine how kids are sent for such important assignments, and get all the more bewildered when I tell them that it’s a common feature in the company to give responsibility to youngsters, more so because the average age of the employees of the company is around 26. That shocks them beyond belief!! Almost all of them who have visited India talk of the young people there, how educated they are, and how they are willing to stretch, and how seriously they take their careers, this apart from complaining about the traffic there!! While it’s nothing unusual for me; after living here, I can understand why it shocks them. Most people here start taking their careers seriously only after they turn 30 or more. And even when people work, the attitude to work is very different from what it is in India. Here work is as aptly put by a Swedish colleague, a method to sustain their hobbies; very different from India, where it’s a social symbol, a means to a good living and a lot more…. Obviously when these people meet 22 year olds who know exactly what they want, and are prepared to work hard and take all possible chances to get there, they do a complete somersault!!

While at one hand when I look around here, I feel these people here are lucky not to have as many people as we have in India making their lives easier and more content, on the other hand I feel I am lucky to be born in India in this era. Its good to be a part of the club termed as an achiever, fearless and willing to go all the way!! It’s possible that all this due to the excessive competition that we face from childhood that makes us aggressive and give our all out to win. Maybe the fact that “if not me, then someone else is going to take my place”, or maybe its only because we live in a society where education, the kind of work someone does, the kind of money someone earns decides his or her social standing that propels us to give it our best and not fear from taking risks to win.

Whatever the reasons are, I feel it will do us good in the long run. Its already proved by the Indian economy doing so well, the rupee rising, the sensex being around the 17K mark, a lot of Indians abroad wanting to get back, some Swedish colleagues of mine expressing interest to work in India and now even with us doing so well in Hockey, soccer and winning the world cup!!

PS: I am aware of the contradictions in the previous blog and this one on Indian cricket… cannot help it, I am the original fickle Indian cricket fan!! Also wanted to spew venom against that statement made by Shoaib Mallik, but then let it pass, since its either a reflection of his poor English, or ignorance or pathetic thinking - in any case, completely unworthy of any comment.