Monday July 2 2007
Last night, I had a strange kind of experience when I suddenly got the same feeling, which Shahrukh got in ‘Swades’. I met elder brother of a good friend and my flat mate Pavan who is also a colleague of mine. His brother had come on the purpose of visiting German embassy to get his visa to Munich for his masters in Geomatics. I was quite impressed by the way he carried himself and his physical fitness. Obviously I was enthralled by his success that he was going to Germany for research.
He shares the same degree with me and has been working in DRDO for the last 4 years. It was kind of a big delay in pursuing a masters since he is aged 27 this date. A typical Indian company provides ample vroom for further studies but when I asked him why he got delayed his answer took me by surprise. He told me that he couldn’t make it in 2004 before he had a chance of visiting Antarctica with the annual Indian expedition to maitri, our research center over there. He said it was a lifetime chance and it was worth this delay in his PG course. He showed me hundreds of his photographs from Antarctica to Capetown to Goa all shot during the expedition.
I was certainly captivated by the beauty of the virgin ice, the abysmal glaciers, gigantic icebergs and what not. He showed pics of a ceremony, which is observed, when anyone enters the Antarctic Circle, the sign boards there displaying huge distances of Indian mainland from maitri.
Then as an obvious inquisitive me, asked about the budget of an expedition of which even he was not sure what DRDO would gain out from. He was too proud to say that government spends an average of Rs.70 lacs per expedition per person. Such an exorbitant amount! I don’t know why I couldn’t restraint myself and said, “And still you are leaving them to study outside with intentions of settling abroad?” May be he could not assimilate that too well and later said, “ After visiting a place like that just going to the moon is what is left, but of course one shouldn’t be too sentimental, the way you are getting. You go there, you enjoy and you come back, there is no scope for being emotional, life moves on…aaj yahan kal kahin aur.”
An engineer becomes worth research only after hands on experience for about 2-3 years. I was traumatized as to how he used the govt infrastructure, govt money to fulfill his own fantasy and after actually gaining an experience of 4 years, when it is actually his time to pay back the nation, he is leaving to serve someone else. His plans themselves boast of his intentions to just earn more even if it means kissing foreign asses. I don’t know why the PSUs don’t take a HR interview in their selection process to recruit only those who have the zeal for research for the nation!
The PSUs have over a period of time contributed much but of lately, are reduced to a state where they are considered as hubs where one can prepare for his future in addition to a handsome salary. In my organization I meet people preparing for civil services, CAT and GRE, even I might someday prepare for a high earning future. Most of the people argue about the rampant availability of free time as a consequence of which this phenomenon is emerging but I feel its all a vicious circle, there is free time because people don’t work and people don’t work that is why there is time!
I admit even I would want to be a man with money I cant count, power that I have always cherished but all on my own soil where my strength holds some meaning for my nation, where every rupee spend on my pleasure and leisure stays in our economy, boosts our nation’s growth, not of the people who considers us the labor.
I some times think about the plight of labor from eastern UP and Bihar in the towns of northern or western India, they way the word ‘bihari’ is used as an abuse and then I think about the people serving the westerners.
What would they call that DRDO scientist in Germany?
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