Rat race - it hurts

Ever wondered why are you one of those people who are caught in the race? You must be an engineer who did his/her graduation in Computer Science/ Electrical/ Mechanical / Civil from one of the many good colleges in the country. You completed your graduation by copying the answers from your friends, googling projects or even strong guesses. You always dreamt of big things during graduation but yet appeared for campus interviews. Probably you were the lucky one to get selected early or you were the one who scraped through. You then joined an IT major and became one of 25000 candidates selected that year from different colleges/ universities to do an outsourced job... and then?

You became a rat.. you joined a rat race. The rat race of appraisals, on-site opportunities, promotions, buying a new car, flat etc. etc. Didn't you?

Question: Does it hurt to be in the rat race?

Busy running a rat race, many people forget the real reason they are chasing a dream. Some people get into the habit of running a rat race because they are trying to compete with people or make people in their lives, such as their parents, happy with the decisions they make.

I am a Software Engineer. I've developed desktop and mobile applications, product development using SAP. I also did an executive MBA during my job tenure. But none of my job profiles offered me to "manage" and "grow" something until lately I took the reigns in my hand. Wondering what I did during my last 6 years, was it something I real wanted to do? Sadly, the answer is NO. I always wanted to run my own business.

Life beyond the Rat Race


The life beyond the rat race only begins when we take a small but meaningful journey within us. It is important for us to know what we really want to do, what you are passionate about. For example, if you think that you are trapped in a lousy career, its a good idea to look back and see why you are in a career you hate.

Second good way would be to stop trying to compete with other people. Whether you are competing with someone with better possessions or better job, you will be stuck running a rat race because you probably won't be able to catch up with them. You are only in competition with yourself. 


Every one imagines a life beyond a rat race. But hardly any one dares to try and live it. All we need to do it first know what we want and then take steps to do it. Money is secondary. If Edison invented electric bulb because he wanted to earn, he’d have never invented an electric bulb. Do it if your heart says. Do some thing new, some thing better and do it if it is fun. If you are good at it, the money will follow.

DSLR - You don't stop with that, do you?

As I browse through my Facebook feed through various tinted photographs of poor people and crows making out on a high tension power line, it only compounds my irritation.

Apparently anyone can now own a DSLR without knowing what it expands to. The moment you get one, you update your Facebook status with technical specifications of your camera that serves as a harbinger to us. Then you have two passive Facebook users (Their role in online social life ends with the like button) to like it. I think they are like assassins. You can hire them and get them to like stuff on a temporary basis. An innocent girl falls for the bait and comments “Wow”. A hound of wolves go and like her comment, which tallies to a higher rational number than the likes for your original post, thereby embarrassing you. I mean, why this hoopla?

When you get your DSLR, do you start looking at everything as a prospective photograph. Poor people are now the target of your black and white pics. Suddenly old senile men clad in loin cloth are of value to you. A wrecked car becomes an object of art. I mean, how suddenly?

You categorize stuff into different senseless albums. Stray dogs come under the category of wildlife. Why man, why?Do they live in the forest? Are they endangered? I really don’t think so. They chase me all around the housing colony, as I drive my car with my windows up out of fear, when I return home after 11 pm. Your cycle bell is shot in high resolution and uploaded into “random pics”.

Doors, windows, bullet enfields and light switches go under the category of classic pictures. Who certified it as classic dear? The Academy awards jury?Sigh, self-proclamation. And yes, find new names. “What I see”, “Brilliant shots from my eye” and “Shots through my lens” are exhausted names for an album.

”Random pics”, the worst ever name, not just for an album. If you hate your child, you should name him “Random pics”.

You know what I dread the most? When you walk alone and call it a photowalk. Apparently it is exactly like your normal walk, except for the fact that you annoy other people with your camera during your walk, thereby intruding their privacy. You shoot pictures of mango sellers, beach, shops, lakes, carvings, pillars and everything you find. Then you post process it and make it look pretentious. And then you put your logo along with a copyright image. Yeah, because Sanjay Leela Bhansali is looking to sneak away your photos and plagiarize it in his next movie. Some of the folks even put “Rights reserved” at the footer of the image. I wonder what rights you have reserved for yourself. I will plagiarize it and see how you effectively sue me in high court. 

It is tiring to see “Ram photography” , “Shyam photography” or “Soorpanaka photography” as image footers.

You don’t stop with that, do you? You have to bestow your photography tips on us. When we common men click photos with our “point and shoot” cameras, you go all over our pictures and say “This should have been shot in Macro mode” , “That should have been shot at this exposure”. Ok, I know you understand the nuances of photography. However all I want is just to click a button and get a picture. From now on, your shooting tips will be met with shooting, from a gun.

End of rant.

P.S: Don't take it to heart you DSLR owners, please keep clicking my pictures in any mode you want :)