Moral milestones in journey of life

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Our moral universe is shrinking,” said Congress president Sonia Gandhi recently. In their race to success are there any principles that today’s fast-paced youngsters hold close to their hearts and aren’t ready to compromise on?

Meet Rayshita Sachdev, 19, whose ultimate dream is to be a world-class fashion designer, but her parents top her priority list. Rayshita let go of a few tempting scholarships that demanded her to stay and study abroad. “My parents are my strength and weakness. I know I have to reach the top, and I will do my best to get there. But not at the cost of staying away from my parents and friends,” says Rayshita, who finally chose to study fashion designing at an institute in her hometown, Chandigarh.
Anna Mir, 19, admits that she is an “emotional fool” and an impulsive person. “I can do whatever it takes to climb the success ladder. But I don’t have the inbuilt art of flattery and deceit that can get you places in today’s vicious world. These are a must if you have to survive in the corporate world. I had to quit my previous job for the same reason. I couldn’t do what my colleagues were masters at,” says Anna, who’s now working with a Delhi-based ad agency.
Aspiring model Natasha (name changed), 18, knows that she has killer looks. But she turned down an ad film offer when she was asked to “compromise” by the filmmaker. “They were insisting that I wear a revealing outfit and I wasn’t comfortable with it,” she says.
Success, like morals, is relative. What’s right for one may be a sin for the other, adds Natasha. “My parents are already against the glamour world but I am crazy about it. I have complete confidence in myself. Even if I am going against my parents’ wishes, I have set certain boundaries for myself which I am never going to cross, come what may,” she says.
But how does it feel when they witness those not adhering to the moral code make it to the top smoothly without any hassle? Do they feel jealous and deprived? How do they console themselves? “I am happy being an average student as long as I am honest about my studies. I won’t take pride in being a topper if all I have done is cheating in my exams,” says 16-year-old Sahil Sheikh. For him, success means being answerable to one’s conscience.