It was my Dad.
“W, Don’t you think it will be a good thing to invest in a car?”
“My first car will run on hydrogen. Hydrogen manufactured from clean and energy efficient processes. If that is going to take some time, let us wait for the one lakh car from that Tata folks…”
“??”
It was my Dad again.
“So when will you get a chance to go onsite?”
“Onsite! You must be kidding me! Other than the money, there is nothing but misery at onsite. Even I get a chance to go onsite, I will not go.”
“But only if you go onsite, you will be able to save enough to build a house. And you must also start saving for that right now…”
“If I ever build a house, it has to be self sufficient. It will have its own power source. That means a windmill, a solar farm, a battery farm to store the energy, a captive power plant to provide power backup and if necessary then be connected to the grid in the worst case scenario. The house must also have it own water purification systems and recycling systems. Then we also need to have garbage compositing systems. The house must be fully self aware and have all the latest technological advancements built into it. I wonder when I am going to save enough to build such a house…”
“??”
I call it is the “House and Car Syndrome”. For most people (at least in this country), the entire purpose of living seems to be to build a house and get a car(better than your next door neighbor). I agree about that logically. But that is not the PURPOSE of life. HCS is the one reason why Indians are great working for others but are bad when it comes to starting companies. Because starting companies involves risk. And risk might mean that getting your car and a house might take some time. And sometimes, you might not get a house and a car.
I don’t blame my Dad. For a generation just a few decades into Independence and the uncertainties of the license-raj, the comfort zone was very important. But change is happening slowly (but too slow). I personally know two people who have refused to live by the “rules”. I am so proud of them. And I wish I was one among them.
