A plethora of choices

He wasn’t the most popular teacher in our school. His answers to our queries were often too crisp for our pea-sized brains and left us guessing their true meaning. When asked if there would be any choices available in the maths paper set by him, he had said, “there will be a 100% choice.” Later we discovered during the exam that we had to tackle all the questions.

We started complaining loudly about being misled and he said wryly, “Of course, there is a 100% choice. Either do it or don’t.” An ‘objective’ question paper was unheard of in those days. He would have surely hated the idea of offering three to four choices to pick a correct answer.

He must have been an admirer of Henry Ford, who when asked whether the buyer could opt for a T Model Ford in his favourite colour, had said ‘Why not? He can have it in any colour as long as it is black.’

The world has indeed moved far away from the days of Hobson’s choice. I remain perpetually confused about the ‘plan’ I should opt for my post-paid mobile phone. Telemarketing executives of phone companies keep bombarding me with a whole lot of plans, that cover an extremely wide range of bytes for data transmission and outgoing calls. Fortunately, incoming calls cost nothing irrespective of the telecom company and no company is stingy about outgoing calls as long as I pay for data usage. But there is a shroud of mystery around the GBs and MBs I consume in sending or receiving an occasional picture snapped on my mobile camera. I thought of seeking my granddaughter’s advice, while she enjoyed her popcorn, and I a piping hot cup of coffee at a fancy joint. But the wide choices forced me to seek her help in deciphering those exotic names good old coffee had assumed. When I asked the girl at the counter why I couldn’t simply ask for coffee with milk instead of having to learn mysterious sounding Spanish and Latin words like latte and cappuccino, my granddaughter was so embarrassed that she suggested we move to a less swanky place.

I remember when preparing to face the Services Selection Board for entering the NDA many decades back, I was advised by someone to answer all questions truthfully, instead of cramming in impressive answers.

That’s how when asked why I had given Air Force as my first choice amongst the three services, I had replied: “Because it comes before the Army and Navy in the alphabetical order, which are my second and third choices.” Later, while comparing notes with other aspirants, I found their answers ranged from A for adventure to Z for zing. I wondered if I had been too truthful. After my selection, I felt that the interviewer must have shared with me the phobia of getting lost in the maze of too many choices.