Some of the dreaded questions that this gen asks is so scary….

1. What do you do? (in the last 30-40 years it has got scary)

2. What is your educational qualification?

3. Where do you live? (location: Country including PinCode)  and 4. What car do you drive?

Frankly there is a big mafia out there which will size you up on ANY one of these answers.

What do you do has some sexy answers which people love – ‘I am a neurosurgeon’ – and ‘I am a dentist or a gynaec’ or ‘I am a CA’, ‘I am a Venture capitalist’, ‘I am an equity trader’ or ‘I am a fund manager’…obviously there are others who will say ‘I am working in…..’ or ‘I am a school teacher’………..

Similarly the car you drive, the location where you live, the clubs to which you belong, – each of these are a ‘leading’ question!

Based on your answer, the person will evaluate you, bracket you, and generally decide where you should be in life. Then they will compare you to THEIR mental image of where they think you should have been (if they know you for say 40 years or 80% of your life whichever is smaller)…and say ‘you remember that dodo in school, can you believe …..he is now a…….’

This is good fun, if you can step out of your body and enjoy the thought process. Is it possible that you have inherited a lot of money, got a fantastic degree in Fine Arts, work as a school teacher, be a good photographer, drive around in a fantastic car and stay in a pathetic house?

Well these guys will pull their hair, because they will not be able to typecast you – and that for them, THAT  is traumatic.

A friend of mine was learning astrology from his father. One day his father gave him a horoscope and said ‘tell me is this a good horoscope”.

My friend looked at it and said “Omg, no!”.

His father said: “Tell me why?”

My friend said: “No college education, no recognised degree, no foreign trips, no marriage, no kids, no house, no car…..yuck this is really lousy.”

His father said: “This is the problem. I asked you for a view…you have given me YOUR VIEW, not just the facts…

This, my dear son is the horoscope of Kanchi Kamathoti Peetham’s Shankaracharya.

  1. Subra,
    These questions have been asked in my generation too!

    What matters to most people is which clubs you belong to and which car you drive and where do you eat out! Certain things are done and said only for the purpose of impressing others.

    But luckily some of us, including your’s truly have escaped that kind of mindset! Thank God for sensible upbringing.

  2. Excellent ….Comparision with others almost inevitably brings sorrow and that urge to Have More …Keep it up !

  3. What matters is, how much money you have. Yes you need to know how you carry your self. For this, you need to have basic education atleast a degree?

    I would go with Smart business man who knows how to carry and has made loads of money over a engineer with good marks but struggling with his earnings

  4. ha ha ha… what a super illustration you provided at the end sir!

    Guess what !! These days a similar set of questions is asked by the Doctor’s to the, patient ?? No, to the person who will pay the bill!!
    Traffic police to the traffic offender! and at any more such places.

    I guess they too use the answer’s to size up ! For a different purpose of course!

    May God help you , if the answer to the first question is I.T professional, in a city like Bangalore.

    I still sometime tell my old profession of Banking when there is a scope to escape with that!!

    These days hearing banking evokes a bit sympathy, unlike old days when people on hearing my father is banker, use to think we are minting money!! LoL!

  5. Excellent thought. Life is not a happy one lead impressing others. Live your life so that you have dignity, comfort and growth for your family, elders and children. Save for the future not be in debt to impress people who never matter to us. Whether we impress them or not they will never mean anything of us or us to them.

  6. Can answer questions 2 and 3 but still figuring out the answer to 1. Closest approximation – generally laze about when not slaving for one well known bank. Part time slave would be a good answer to 1 , I guess…
    (p.s : My masters have been kind so far..)
    (p.p.s: Past performance is not….)
    BTW the horoscope reading was great fun..

  7. Sir,can you please give a post on your views/experiences on Astrology. Would like to hear from you as you are far more experienced and well .. smart. (Hope you dont mind). Thanks.

  8. Dear Subra,
    Did you mention the “First” Sankaracharya? Just for curiosity!
    He was a great human being. His words are inspirational to anybody.

  9. of course NOT the first Sankaracharya, it was the immediately past Sankaracharya who was called Jagadguru.

    My views on astrology? Nothing. Do not consult a astrologer (knew 2 world famous astrologers, but NEVER asked them anything). One of them said ‘you will have a son’. I have a daughter.

    No views on astrology. Period.

  10. hehe i don’t know about ‘this son’, but i am learning to write a horoscope(tamil/india) from my father, its awesome, and for plp who think its simple or mumbo-jumbo just give it a try.

  11. I am working perpetually “in office administration”…
    works like a charm.

    solid illustration subrabhai.

  12. That story on astrology doesn’t seem genuine. Son could read the lack of so many things but not fame, a high office, dedication of life to religion and other related aspects. I am surprised.

    However, must say it does serve its purpose. Nice post.

  13. Nice to see this kind of article , Now a days we do so many things to impress others, We should live a life as we wanted to live

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