The Great Indian Lie: "Work Hard Now, Enjoy Later"

 It was the winter of 2005. A cold Delhi winter that almost felt like a punishment from nature—especially on days when the sun was adamant about not showing up. The atmosphere outside looked like a scene from a vampire movie.

I was in my classroom. There was no teacher, and students were self-studying—if such a thing really exists. Occasionally, a teacher would pass through the corridor and look into the class from outside.

Then came our English teacher.

He was a man in his 40s or 50s. A PhD in his subject. A very reputed person on campus. The class turned silent. Everyone looked at him. He had a way of speaking in a rhythm that could be turned into music if presented before a musician worth the name. And then he said the lines that have been carved into my memory:

"WORK HARD AND BE SINCERE TILL CLASS 10TH AND THEN YOUR WHOLE LIFE WILL BECOME EASIER."

The Moth and The Flame

Our young brains were attracted to this wisdom the way moths are attracted to fire.

In our immature minds, we thought: a year or two of hard work, and then an easy life for many years ahead. That looked like a chance worth grabbing. And boy, did we grab it. Everyone liked the idea of a small investment that would turn into a multi-bagger in a year or two.

These words motivated us to take studies as if our lives depended on them. Books started accompanying us even into toilets. It almost became a race—whose life would become the easiest after 10th.

Given the exam pattern and requirements of the education system, the more your words matched the book, the greater your knowledge of the subject was considered to be. If you spent most of your time remembering exact words and sentences without knowing what they meant, you were on the path to becoming a topper. Hell, even teachers appreciated this kind of intelligence. No wonder most students scored marks in the high 90s.

Life was supposed to become easier after that, as per the agreement.

The Class 11 Reality Check

But boy oh boy—Class 11 is like a kick on the butt for all the cloud-nine toppers of Class 10. You almost start feeling cheated the moment you see the textbook. The euphoria subsides faster than a bullet train. Reality hits, and you become Jon Snow—who knows nothing.

Age and our bodies are working against us as well. They are hell-bent on making every other human form “the most beautiful person on Earth.”

The deadly combination of Lust and Calculus begins. If you notice, the first three letters of Lust and the last three letters of Calculus are the same. Newton was indeed a genius beyond imagination.

Then it happens again. A teacher enters your class and tells you:

"WORK HARD AND BE SINCERE TILL CLASS 12TH AND THEN YOUR WHOLE LIFE WILL BECOME EASIER."

The Democratic Trap

Our memory rushes to compare this with our earlier experience. We trust these words less—but get fooled anyway. Schools accidentally teach us how to be fooled by the same words again and again. We thus become contributing members of a democratic republic, where this skill proves vital. When you gain mastery in it, you turn 18 and can vote.

We then enter college based on our performance in entrance exams. All the hard work for Class 12 turns out to be merely preparation for these exams. And those exams can really turn things upside down. One hundred and eighty minutes decide the next sixty years—or do they?

On the first day of college, everything is new. New classmates, new teachers, new place, and needless to say, new books. Slowly, our minds start accepting this new environment. Somehow, we feel as if we are moving toward freedom. Teachers are now called professors for some reason. Principals become deans.

And then, in one of the introductory speeches, the dean says:

"WORK HARD AND BE SINCERE TILL GRADUATION AND THEN YOUR WHOLE LIFE WILL BECOME EASIER."

(Part 2 coming soon—when the same sentence finally reaches the job market, this time with a salary slip.)