Monday, December 1, 2014

The need to lie

I would probably have been a great Indian tycoon OR a top bureaucrat or a famous...somebody...but for one small problem. ("Oh! Really!" you say? What business do you have mouthing off here? Whose blog is it anyway?) The issue was that I never really knew which lesson to adopt and which to ignore. You know what, the worst problem is in not ignoring some of the lessons that you learn.

Among those various lessons that I learnt - and mistakenly adhered to - was this one about always telling the truth. Parents, teachers, everyone conspired to drill that into my head, so how was I to know that it was wrong to adhere to it? Though, it must be said, that the school did try to hint that the truth was not always a welcome thing. You know those things - they ask you "What would you do if you were the Prime Minister?" and get very angry if you reply honestly, "I will eat all the chocolates and ice-creams I want, without my mom and dad interfering with me." Apparently, you are supposed to write something like, "I will eradicate poverty, ensure every child gets an education...." when you are not even sure whether YOU really want an education yourself.

The first real inkling I got about the fact that not knowing to lie was detrimental to a good future was when I attended interviews to get a seat in Engineering. "Why do you want to join Computer Sciences?" was the major killer. Apparently, an answer on the lines of "Because it seems to be the best bet to get a high salary, go gallivanting round the world and get the hot babes interested in you" was not acceptable even if it WAS the gospel truth. You had to find an answer that indicated to them that God, when he was making you, filled you with a divine passion for coding that will not allow you to rest unless you were in front of a digital monster, typing in things like 'If x=y then a x b else b x a'. Needless to say, I failed miserably in convincing the interview panel that my only idea of Nirvana was to learn COBOL. (WHAT? Java? THAT only meant coffee in those days, provided you knew American.)

Then came the job interviews. By then, of course, I HAD learned that there would be this question about why I wanted to join their organisation and the ONLY acceptable answer was that my dreams of Heaven were all about working in THAT organisation and I woke up salivating at the thought. What I had not anticipated was this question, "Tell us why we should select you?" The only honest answer that I could think of was "THAT, I thought, was YOUR job. If I have to tell you that, what the hell are YOU doing on the interview panel?" This, it seems, was not the answer that they wanted. The idea, supposedly, was to tell them all the ways in which you would make the organization proud. Why o why do people ALWAYS want you to lie?

Having somehow landed a job, I thought that my lying days were over. Not so, as the very first time I applied for leave taught me. Apparently, the fact that you are allowed a certain number of days of leave did not mean that you could simply say that you would not come to office the next day. You had to give a leave application complete with a reason why you want it. The only honest reason I normally had was "I am tired of my boss' face and a need a break from it." This was not something you could put down there - not if you wanted to get the leave granted since it WAS your boss who had to approve it. Not to mention the fact that he may express HIS tiredness for YOUR face with such effect that you may need to find a new boss in a new organization to be tired of. So, more lies!

The way the world is built, when a soul reaches the pearly gates after death and is asked, "Why do you want to go to Heaven?" and answers, "I have always wanted to be in Heaven after I die", it may be the very first honest answer that it ever gave in an interview!

24 comments:

  1. The fine art of lying is taught for the sake of niceties to us as kids and later in life as adults we practice, hone the art and become professionals because adult society can not handle truth most of the times.
    I can not tell my MIL that I am not interested in going for a family wedding ,I would rather lye that I won't get the leave.
    I can not tell my friend that I am not Ok with lending the book,I would rather say" it's Ok ,take it" or say " my bro has taken it already" and both the cases are lies.
    All these lies because I am afraid that truth would not be palatable.

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    1. Quite! A pity I never learned to do it well :)

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  2. Something tells me that there is no 'lie' in this post, whatsoever! And somehow I think you seem to be doing quite well with your truth-telling, so why change? :) It is actually funny - in a sad sort of way - how we feel 'forced' to lie because the world isn't ready to hear the truth. O well....
    And I agree the part about "tell us why we should select you" in job interviews really takes the cake! Some people don't even want to do their job ;)

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    1. Some lies are told just to lubricate your way through the world, Beloo - the so-called white lies! What I cannot understand is the institutions that interview with questions for which they full well know that nine times out of ten the answers they hear will be...well...shaded truth if not outright lies, shall we say? It is as though they are selecting people based on how well they can lie! :)

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  3. True that, your answer to that question asked at the Gates of Heaven :)

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  4. It is really painful to have to lie,no matter what the outcome.I may be forced to do it sometimes,but there are some who do it nonchalantly,without sufficient need ; and then they are often forced to contradict themselves.With so many lies floating around--they forget what they said earlier.

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    1. What astonishes me, Indu,is this institutionalized practice of inviting lies :)

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  5. Lies and lies are the truth .. :P

    Great post ....

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    1. Thanks - and I sure hope that THAT last phrase is not also a lie :P

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  6. Oh gosh, don't remind me of those interviews. The questions they ask are to test your lying skills. You are right. While we ask for nothing but the truth, we actually expect a little white lie. What bothers me is why people lie when there is really no need to do so. And then some will lie to you and lie to someone else and then get exposed in the bargain. It really is ridiculous the entire scenario. Yes, that gates of heaven answer certainly was the truth. Good post! And that is not a lie. :D

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    1. Ahha! Trust you to get to the pith of the post - the point WAS actually what I think is crazy in the interviewing process, these questions that practically sit up and beg you to lie :)

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  7. Totally identify with your post.
    Being honest has its costs. But, there are times when honesty is sought! Trust me :)
    There's a saying, something like- 'speak the truth and you don't have to remember anything!' :)

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    1. True - but in these interview lies also you do not need to remember anything - afterwards :)

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  8. LOL! Those honest answers are way better than what-you-should-say ones. Wish people appreciate honesty or the humor in it. :)

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    1. Thanks Saru! I had started thinking that there was NO humor in this piece :)

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  9. Hahahaha..... Actually, those honest answers do keep swimming in our heads all the time, no? How explosive it would be if the mouth didn't filter what the brain wanted to say!!

    Ah! I so missed being in this space! What?? I'm being totally honest here!

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  10. I loved this post. No, I'm not lying, I swear!

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  11. Situations dear. You can't tell straight on the face to any one you r terminally ill & u have a few days to live.

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    1. True - but that still does not explain why we ask questions in interviews that invite lies for answers :)

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  12. Hi Suresh,

    Nice and different post as usual. By the way, I was unable to contact you via IB, thus letting you know here that I have stated your name in this contest / post: http://trustmeifyoucan.blogspot.in/2014/12/remembering-those-days-in-college.html
    Please feel free to revert me. Thanks

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    1. Thanks for considering me, Hafeezur Rahman! I am grateful

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