Life, Marksheet and Heartbeat...

Hi

Rocket Singh, the movie, has evoked controversies in my mind even before the movie has released. It's just some of the dialogues in this trailer that make we wonder what values do we imbibe in ourselves, and on the "Americanization" of Indian values and lifestyle.

First of all, let me reiterate what Mr. Rocket Singh has to say:

"Life marksheet se nahin chalthi boss, life heartbeat se chalti hain"

Point 1: If life doesn't run on mark-sheets, then why did you mention your marks specifically? Why did you write your exams in the first place - you could have skipped them too! Just forget marks if there is no use of getting good marks and good grades. It must henceforth be made mandatory that all colleges do not use marks, and only use the "heart-beat" for admission into colleges. Students who go after marks have no life at all, right?

Point 2: Heartbeat, if I understand properly, refers to the enthusiasm and passion that the person has for life. It is the fullness of life that makes up that "heartbeat". So what if a person has both "marks" and the "heart". How will his success be predicted? Will the "marks" matter? Or is it just the "heart"? And how can one measure the passion?

Although this seems just like a disgruntled rambling from the mouth of a delusional gentleman in his mid-fifties, I am glad to say it's from me. That is because words like these make my blood boil, especially in times like there, where we are looking more towards Goddess Lakshmi, when in fact we should look towards Goddess Saraswati for guidance.
Has education lost its significance? Are getting marks that easy for some and that tough for the others, that we must leave it all to fate with the words "Yaar, woh fundoo hai, usko nahin milega toh kisko milega?" "Yaar, exam aise hi ho jayega yaar... Kya karenge utne number laake?"

I sincerely feel that those who work hard to score those extra 1-2 marks know the true value of marks. It's not the case of "Those who have nothing realize the value of something", but instead it's the opposite way round here. Isn't it unfair to label the studious ones as geeks? Didn't geeks like these invent "Google"? Didn't geeks like these build giant empires based on one paricular product?

Rocket Singh may feel life doesn't run on marksheets, but the inventors of the products he sells know the value of their marks, the value of their degree, that has added more value to the world than Rocket Singh can ever hope to.