Lessons of 3 idiots, really?

I recently saw an Indian movie called 3 Idiots, that has been a big hit in India and among the Indian diaspora abroad. The movie is a critique of an aspect of Indian society that I had mentioned in an earlier post - the incessant pressure on young people from every aspect of the society to get ahead, at the expense of their own dreams and aspirations. The film is mostly enjoyable because the funny parts balance out the preachy parts. All of a sudden Indians are talking about this. Every day I see chain emails with subjects such as "Lessons from 3 Idiots." I am happy that this film has started a national conversation on the topic, but what I am really surprised by is that Indians are behaving as if until they saw this movie, it had never occurred to them that the academic system put too much pressure on young people.

However, what the film presents is a very simplistic solution "let education institutions expand minds and let young people pursue their dreams". It is easy to say this but to turn into a reality, it needs support from many components of the society.

A person can freely pursue her dreams only if she is also given the freedom to fail, and opportunities to start over. This the Indian society seriously lacks. Failure is viewed harshly and opportunities to start over are non-existent. There are age-restrictions on everything from college admissions to job applications. Take the example of one of the characters in the film who wants to become a wildlife photographer rather than an engineer, and viola he becomes immensely successful at it. What if he didn't? What if after pursuing photography for 5-10 years he realized that he really should have pursued engineering - no college in India would take him. The seeds of a passion need nourishment to turn into a flourishing tree. Somebody interested in wildlife photography would need to feed their passion by reading magazines such as National Geographic to learn more about the possibilities. Yet, until about 10 years ago a National Geographic magazine was not only unaffordable for the average Indian middle class but also unavailable. There wasn't any awareness either - growing up, I could count on one hand the career options I thought were available to me.

With the boom in economy of the last few years there are a lot more opportunities in modern India, and with the advent of the internet a lot more awareness. There still aren't any well-stocked public libraries that you could access for resources. Same goes for sports. There are no junior sports leagues, and unless your parents can afford to put you in some special training lessons, there aren't any opportunities to learn even if sports are your passion. While I was growing up participation in sports was looked down upon, and most children were encouraged to study rather than waste time playing.

And still the society has no appreciation for originality or creativity. Say, you were artistic and wanted to pursue art. Your creativity would have been destroyed by the time you got to middle school because the art teachers, if you were fortunate to have any, would have insisted you do things a certain way, and only the children who could produce an exact replica of some painting in a book would be considered good artists. What any "art lesson" in India would teach you is skill or craftsmanship, but it would not let you expand your creativity. Most India musicians become very skilled at their craft by rigorous practice, but are they creative?

This happens to be the main reason that holds me back when I consider moving back to India. Everybody praises the education system, and how the curriculum there is much advanced. I'd rather have a somewhat inferior system, but one that encourages exploration and provides room for failures and fresh starts.