IndiSpire EDITION #22
Born in India? Are you an Engineer or a doctor? True dreams, passion, do they exist? Are they being chased by this generation?

I remember the day I told my parents that I did not want to be either an engineer or a doctor. The resounding chaos and the shouting match that followed made it seem like I had committed a heinous crime and was sentenced to death.
All of this coming from a supposedly well-educated family.
I wanted to go for law. But, somehow, my parents were against that as well. Their argument being that I had taken science at school and so I had to be either an engineer or a doctor.
Finally, I managed to mellow them down and they agreed. But, getting into the prestigious NLUs weren’t fated for me. I missed my flight and couldn’t write the entrance.
Then again, they latched back in to the idea of me going for engineering.
I refused and finally managed to get into quite a good college for a bachelor’s in business.
Although there are still instances when my mum resents my choice of a major, it has quietened down a lot.
I got to choose my major by being firm and stubborn. Even if it was my second choice. Plus there is the fact that I can always opt for a three year law degree after my bachelor’s in business.
A lot of my friends did not even have the freedom for that.
There was this extremely talented classmate of mine who had wanted to go for fashion designing but is now stuck doing something like Electronics Engineering.
That is the reality of India. Or rather Indians.
It seems like everyone in India does what they actually wanted to do, only after getting an engineering degree. And after realising that the engineering field is not exactly a bed of roses or everyone’s cup if tea.

But, the good part is that at least a chunk of the young adults out there do go on to chase their dreams and pursue their passion, even if it is after studying engineering for four years only for the parent-pleasing aspect.
And also to avoid the drama about how you wasted your life and treaded the dark path only ’cause you didn’t go for either medicine or engineering. (Drama courtesy: Desi Aunties mainly)
It gets worse when you are a South Indian with extreme intellectuals in your family. So-and-so’s daughter is doing her doctorate in cardio-vascular shiz at Oxford. Why can’t you? Or some obscure Mani Uncle’s son (whom I have never met or even knew that they existed) is doing MS in Harvard. So, why can’t you?

Why can’t I? It is not that I am a simpleton. Or an yiddiiot.
It is just that I am not interested. I love something else. And I am interested in it. I’ll put my heart and soul into it. It’ll be with me day in and day out. I’ll breathe it, I’ll live it. It is my dream, my life, my ambition. And I’ll try to achieve it. Even if it is the last thing that I do.
But, unfortunately, it may not be valued by Indians ’cause it is not either engineering or medicine.