In Engineering, a viva examination is an oral test wherein a candidate is supposed to showcase to 2 good men, his knowledge of the particular subject. Involved in the viva are two examiners and the candidate. One examiner is from the candidate’s own institute department and the other is an external examiner from a different institute.
Happenings from a recently conducted Viva triggers this post and raises important questions about two other questions.Little patience from here will clear obscurity.
The internal examiner for this particular subject had been selectively sending pupils for a ‘re-viva’, which means, the candidate is sent back to spend additional time with his/her book and re-appear at the end of the day.The criteria for Re-viva NOT being the candidate’s knowledge of the subject but a complex Karma evaluation of the candidate which involves consideration of past instances of (mis) behaviour by the candidate.That the list of ‘mis’ behaviour includes finding digging one’s nose a far more consequential thing to do between lectures will be subject of another post.
Among the herd of fellow pupils, 2 specific souls caught my attention.2 souls who for me symbolize 2 very important attributes of our life.If we understand these 2 individuals, we understand the basic fundamentals of our actions both as individuals and as a nation.
While one bloke claimed that he did not mind being sent back a zillion times as long as he was assured of passing the exam, the other soul simply din’t want to go through a re-viva and was all arms for whatever the examiner offered in terms of his result.
For me these two mortals symbolize 2 eternal questions : The ‘What’ & The ‘How’.
While we see clear obsession with “What I want to achieve” with one, the other is clearly scrupulous about “How I achieve it”.For one all that matters is “What he attains”, for the other “How he attains” is of prime importance.
This certainly is not a “How vs What” debate if that is what you expect, for subjective thinking has completely drained off even the slightest of definitive judgement in me but if we look at things around us we find a natural propensity to the “What” more often than not.
“What do I have to conduct ?” :The Commonwealth games.”How” I conduct is immaterial.
“What do I have to attain ?” :A distinction score.”How” I attain it does not matter.
It is our clear obsession with “What” and the ignorance of the “How” that helps flourish corruption in this otherwise wonderful nation.
There are precisely 4 fields where we Indians put big emphasis on the “How” and quite surprisingly these four end up as India’s biggest 4 brands:
1-Bollywood:I had the privilege of attending ad legend Prasoon Joshi’s talk where he in reply to one of my silly questions said and I quote :
“If you look at our movies you will realize we are all about “How” and not the “What” like the west is.One can never expect a story from our movies.We showcase the same story over and over again but where we differ is the “How” “
2-Cricket:Very often India’s victory or loss is not sole reason of celebration.A few questions one can immediately expect from any cricket bearing fellow after the obvious “India Jeeta Kya?” is “Sachin ne Kitna maara?” “Sehwag ka strike rate kitna tha?” “Bhajji ne kitna wicket liya?”.Our love for “How” we win or lose the match is clearly reflected in the above questions.
3-Religion:If Ganesh Chaturthi was just about paying respect to the Elephant lord Ganesha and not about “How” we expressed our reverence, Ganesh Chaturthi would never become one of the biggest assemblies of human celebration in the world.
4-Sex:1.2 billion mortals in one nation.I leave the description to the reader’s imagination.
Next time, do not forget to How the What.
I think this perfectly speaks for what I want to say.
at the end, i don’t think we can’t say that ‘how’ matters to a majority of sports lovers.. as long as their team wins, nothing matters, if they lose, the manner of loss doesn’t matter..
and ‘how’ of sex is never discussed… the ‘what’ of it is the 1.2b figure.. so, even though many things may be characterised into ‘how’ and ‘what’, some are disparate from such an evaluation and is still fair in its own right…
Paane ke liye saala kuch bhi karega ! Phew !
Elaborate comment later.
it’s “I don’t think we can say*”
U missed out something here…the person who was sent out for the “re-viva”…probably just din wanna deal wid the whole process of a re-viva…coz he/she probably cud not deal wid the fact that he/she wud not be achieving his “WHAT” (which is the passing in this context)…we Indians are really weird…say on a once-in-a bluemoon-day Sachin goes on a duck…U ll never really see a diehard sachin fan say “Arre SACHIN ka aaj footwork bahut ganda tha ” OR “He really shudnt ve played dat sweep on that googly”…rather we hear dem say “Arre yaad mat dila yaar…dimag hat gaya jab sachin bold hua”…..we (INDIANS that is) tend to analyze the RIGHT more than the WRONG…where as the world does it the other way around…
what i m tryin to say is dat we indians r new to the idea of great global success…once v get accustomed to the fact that we actually can always achieve something ….then probably v wud start giving more attention to the HOW…..for now the WHAT matters more if u dont achieve d WHAT no1 s gonna ask the question HOW….how do u think d world wud ve reacted if v had not at all executed the CWG event…????
finally you do come up with the how-what conundrum. Long time coming no?..after reading this its ironic that i actually feel what is a ‘what’ and what is a ‘how’ is purely subjective understanding to each one of us. I mean every example that you cited for either a what or a how can well be turned on its head if you look at it in a different perspective. In a country of one billion people it isnt really accurate to call this country obsessed with what than how purely because perception of each of these concepts is completely different in every individual. hope i made some sense. forgive me if i didn’t..this was written at 1 in the night
Between the “How” and the “What”, I bemoan the fact that nobody asks the most important question – “Why?”
@Rohit
I was going to mention the WHY. Hence the elaborate comment later part. Stuck up in the rut-we have stopped thinking beyond.
@ Adi & whomsoever interested:
The biggest mistakes we make as humans is that fact that we try to derive a pattern, a formula with most aspects in life. Specially success.
Maybe if Bollywood did the ‘what’, they would have ended up making better movies. And eventually a bigger brand than what it is today. Bollywood, today, is known for the charisma of its stars and not for its product, which is supposed to be movies. So have you actually made an honest brand? Don’t think so. But having said, I think Bollywood is heading the right way direction now. We are seeing some really fresh scripts, fresh movies and fresh approaches to the cinemas houses. And yes, we always need the occasional Dabang that acts as a reliever from serious stuff.
Not too different with cricket as well. Dhoni manages to keep India at the No. 1 spot, well, because he knows ‘what’ he wants to achieve. ‘How’ is the second question answered. If Sachin played in a team which had a ‘what’. maybe his ‘how’ would have better sense.
Undoubtedly, if you are looking to go global and look international, ‘what’ is the answer to your question. But if you are looking to make quick bucks, momentary fame-which is not demeaning or easy in anyway-’how’ it is, all the way.
Ask Rakhi Sawant ‘how’ she’s built her brand? And Jamshedji Tata ‘what’ he wanted to make?
@Rishkul:I meant if Sex was just about the What, ie the pleasure, there are alternative ways.However the How we choose makes us such a populous nature.
@Saniel:It wasn’t a biased argument and I clearly mentioned how this is not a debate.Very certainly the “What” is very important.But my point is, so is the “How”.In India or outside, the CWG game is clearly known for either the opening ceremony which is again a “How” or all the controversies which brews from the lack of “How”.
@Pranav:Even if you did make sense you can little expect me to agree
.Well in this case you made partial sense.The “What” is objective.The “How” in its evaluation is Subjective.But I do not evaluate the “How” here, I merely state the importance of its existence too.
@Rohit@Shraddha : Well, the “Why” aspect is absent in the post for a gamut of reasons.I’l state one here.I think the “Why” and the “How” are very closely related.”Why” is associated with purpose.So if Kalmadi probably asked himself “Why” and he told himself that the purpose is to not just conduct the game but prove to our own country and the world, our efficiency of and ability in conducting a global event.The “How” would automatically change.Also if the Engineers of this nation asked himself “Why” he takes up the field and told himself that he wants to make the world a better place to live, the “How” would change and he would never purchase a Techmax.So my “How” here stands for the “Why” too.
@sandeep But if you are looking to make quick bucks, momentary fame-which is not demeaning or easy in anyway-’how’ it is, all the way. But here what matters is ‘What? Make Bucks’ ; How? Immaterial. Ain’t it ?
@Adhitya
How is too much a matter of integrity. And to make the Hows concur for the Why is beyond integrity-it is sheer determination. We might still suffice the Why without the right How.
Precisely. ‘What’ is the bigger question to answer. Dwelling in ‘how’ won’t take you too far. And of course, ‘how’ is a question of integrity. But that’s something that’ll dilute with every passing generation.
Both ‘what’ and ‘how’ are English words that can be used one after the other very conveniently. “Sachin ne kitna mara” is a ‘how’ and a ‘what’ in its own way. You simply need to place it in different contexts.
My advice to you: look at ‘what’ and not ‘how’. While ‘how’ can maybe give you money for as long as you live, ‘what’ will create a product that’ll serve your family for generations to come.
One Dhirubhai Ambani answered ‘what’ many years back. Do you even think his sons have anything like ‘what’ or ‘how’ to answer today?
oh God! so many comments and i reach in pretty late!
Although you have highlighted the “what” part and “how” part in various circumstances, the “what” part is what is of any meaning at all. The how is totally upto the individual, I mean where does the term “by hook or crook” originated?
If what you want to do is clear and you really wanna do it, the “how” is more of an individual opinion.
Winning a cricket match is a given “what” and something we don’t have to do. that’s why the emphasis on how.
vivas again..the what is defined..it is the how that will change from person to person.
It is always the what. your how would matter only if the “What” goes wrong
)
(did i actually understand your post??
‘How’ did you come up with this?
Not clear on the 4th point. By ‘what’ you mean the result, I believe of the act and by ‘How’ you mean the ‘act’.
OR
By ‘What’ you mean the ‘act’ and by ‘How’, how is it done.
If that is the case then disagree on it.
But other 3 absolutely true and very enlightening. Never thought about it.
Also reminds me of Hansa and Prafull from Khichdi. Remember whenever Hansa asks Prafull ‘What is’ and he explains it to her. The humor lies in ‘How’ he explains and not ‘What’ she asks.
dude.. i barely get a comment on MY blog..