Saturday, January 16, 2010

the idiotic movie


Congratulations to HT and Sagarika ('idiot is as idiot does', Saturday January 16, 2010), at last I saw space given to some sensible discussions on the '3 idiots'. The discussion finds true relevance in the current situation when we are noticing some clear design to dilute our school studies (Kapil Sibal's?? vision) and also to wipe out the standard of our higher education (courtesy UGC-cum-Knowledge Commission efforts). While American President Obama urges his fellows to spend more time in the classrooms if they want to compete with Asian students, we are hell bent on aping them and lose our edge in this regard in the name of stress factor. I myself have been witness to the fact that even an average Indian student has always done very well in the West once he/she gets an opportunity. And this is precisely because an average student here spends much more time in studies than they do. Stress due to studies has always remained an urban phenomena in India. In my view, students do not feel the pressure of studies here, in fact they feel pressure for not able to justify their urge in spending time for unlimited fun that is at their easy-disposal in a metro-life. They find it difficult to get time for late-night partying, they do not get time for unnecessary biking and TV viewing, they get little justification for their urge for wasting time and money with their girlfriend/boyfriend in multiplexes, malls, useless video games and restaurants. Still these factors are much less compared to the avenues of fun that the students have at their disposal in the West. It is probably West's vision that if their students are not able to increase their time in studies then at least get the Asian students somehow out of the classes.
'bachpan toh gaya, jawani bhi gayi...ek pal toh hame jine doh' -- this great lyrics tells you that parents of the three idiots were still enjoying their youth while those idiots could not!!!! It was absurdly-funny to have those idiots seen as crying (instead of their parents!!!) that 'sari umra to mar-mar ke ji liye, thoda sa ab hame jine doh jine doh'. I have seen genius students in my more than 20 years of teaching career, but I am yet to encounter one who never prepares for any examination but still manages to top the class. As I understand, a genius of 'Amir'- kind, who is shown to be only interested in learning the subject, goes on to become a very good researcher, he can build a medical equipment using a vacuum cleaner but unfortunately it is only idiotic to show that he tops the batch by writing the answers better than the 4th idiot 'Chatur' and that too when the answer sheets are being marked by professors like Virus!

4 comments:

Dhananjay said...

Dr. Pandey,

I do not understand why you would call it an idiotic movie? As goes with movies, they are often works of imagination, wild, impossible kind or realistic and anything in between and very often the imaginations have a large probability towards its feasibility in happening in real life too.

As against you, I have seen several topper students in my not-so-insignificant-compared-to-yours career, who have question the rote that goes for education in this country. They find themselves shackled and they skip classes and labs (some of them have spent time in my development centre instead, pursuing 'fun' projects).

Ofcourse there were a few unthinkables. But a movie can get away with that kind of implausibilities. For example, the first idiot using an ordinary meter-scale to make measurements on a gadget that would require precision only offered by a screw gauge or micrometer.

The kind of praise you heap on Indian education system is misplaced. Exactly due to our teaching methods and emphasis on rote, our science has failed to offer any creations. Every single research activity is that copied from the west, from high temperature superconductivity pursued 20 years ago to more recent buzz of activity in Nanotechnology. What our education produces is someone that can follow not someone that can lead.

navagat said...

sir i completely agree with the last statement u made about aamir khan topping the exams. it is illogical. if the course and teachers promote rote learning, then logically speaking, so should the exams.
th film maker has comprised on logical thinking and indulged in rote learning himself :) :)
the movie was not all that great.
i saw it myself day before yesterday.

Man Singh said...

Truth is natural and rational in its spirit to flow in realities as universal facts and figures. Individual could create histories provided, is, rational and balnced in acts. Prejudice and biased also enegry to flow, may be in right or chaotic dreams.

Man Singh said...

Truth is natural and rational in its spirit to flow in realities as universal facts and figures. Individual could create histories provided, is, rational and balanced in acts. Prejudice and biased also have enegry to flow, may be in right or chaotic dreams.