Of Mindsets and Airfields

I met up with a very good friend recently. We schooled together, then became gym buddies and now are in good touch. Although he does complain that it is not enough. My friend here, just got recruited in the Indian Air Force! I am, truly, so happy for him. It pleases me to think that he went against all mindsets to choose a different life. A better one, I dare say. I am proud of him.

For those who do not know, the Indian Air Force isn’t only about fighter planes and pilots. It is a huge setup, no different from any industrial sector. Just because they do not manufacture products you and I can use at home, does not mean it cannot be an organization. My friend here has got into a ground staff department, and there is no less glamour about it. It is, nonetheless, the Indian Air Force. I am proud of him.

I always wondered why the Indian social stigma of enforcing children to study right from infancy (play-school) right up till graduation. There is no break; there is no breathing space; there is no trying of new things. Why this mindset? Parents claim that academics are critically important, without which their children will fall behind in this dog-eat-dog world. But is working in the Air Force any less of an achievement? Or any other Defence Force? For that matter, even Sports. How many parents encourage their children to take up a sport if they have a natural gift with it? To excel to a level in the game where they can make their city/state/country proud? Why is it always either Engineering, Medicine or Law? Why not Literature or Art or Music or a Sport?

My friend was half-way through an MBA program when he broke the news of his IAF enlisting. Obviously, it shocked most. Some questioned why while the rest were overjoyed. I was among the latter. Why is our society so reluctant to accept life other than a 9-5 job, feed family, sleep, pay bills, work, eat, sleep, die? Why not test our capabilities? Why not break those mindsets and bring in the new?