Finally, It's About Water, Dal-Chawal And Six Feet Of Real Estate!

Finally, It's About Water, Dal-Chawal And Six Feet Of Real Estate!

It is a paradox that while income levels have skyrocketed, savings have plummeted, against an India which earned less but saved more. Today, we eat more. The food is expensive and unhealthy. But my generation grew up eating the healthy and classical roti-sabji with the occasional indulgence at the nearby popular Udipi hotel. While things change, not everything about the past is irrelevant. The classical way of living had its constraints, but it ingrained in us a sense of responsibility. Today's reckless spending and dramatic lifestyle are presenting a great outer picture, 

but creating an inner vacuum.

You had a hard day under the Sun. The most refreshing moments came from you gulping down cold drinks. Yet, on coming home, the first thing you did was drink a few glasses of water, and they did what a few bucks spent on fancy cold drinks could not do – quench your thirst.

You were looking forward to eating varied delicacies for lunch in the choicest of restaurants. You happily paid the sumptuous bills. For dinner, you chose to have a light meal – dal, chawal and sabji. And lo! the satisfaction they provided far surpassed the `joy` of starters, sizzlers and desserts earlier in the day.

You went on a long holiday with family to a luxurious resort. The first few days were exciting – great ambience, great luxury, great food and awesome locales for sight seeing. However, a few days later you craved for the cosiness of your home. As soon as you entered it, you uttered, `home sweet home, real satisfaction is where our home is`.

You recently heard about the death of a rich man in your neighbourhood. He worked all his life for money, and because of his wealth, he was the stuff of envy. Yet, whenever you met him, you noticed the stress behind the smile. As you neared his dead body to offer your respects, you noticed that while in his lifetime he had acquired acres of real estate, he lay lifeless on just six feet of ground.

What's common between these scenarios? That, as much as we may hanker for the riches and luxuries of life, ultimately, it's the simple things that offer us solace and contentment. A life spent earning for the comfort of the family, without having the time to see your kids grow up is a wasted effort. The joy of life does not lie in the mindless luxuries we build. It lies in being part of the simple things that keep us happy and secure. Happiness and security come from spending quality time with family, seeing our children grow up, taking care of our health, taking care of our parents in old age, serving society in small and humble ways. And yes, the timeless statement that `we will take nothing with us` will forever remain timeless.

I grew up in an India that thrust simplicity on us. The closest we came to enjoying a burger was a vada pav. The nearest we came to experiencing a movie at a multiplex was a balcony ticket with the air condition magically directing its cool breeze towards us. The tailor and the kirana storewala next door were our source of good food and clothing. Having cutting chai at the nukkad and indulging in small talk with friends were elixirs of life. Those moments cost less, but they endured more.

Money had a value that went beyond mere currency. It was hard to acquire, so not easy to spend. Being a part of the great Indian middle class was about maintaining social balance. The middle class contributed to the political, intellectual and economic dialogue. It had a vibrancy which kept the nation ticking.

In the India we live in today, money seems to have overpowered every other consideration, like quality of one's inner life, simplicity of thinking and value of relationships. I am not cribbing about the changing dynamics – after all, to quote a cliche, change is the only constant. But while materialism expands one's choices, knowing where choice ends and greed starts is critical.

In the old India, stress came from lack of choices and access to information. So, we trusted more. But today, stress comes from the abundance of choices. We as kids waited for our father to return home safely from work everyday. On days he was late, we just prayed and hoped all was well, as we had no mobile phones. Today, however, we are experiencing the `stress of convenience`. It's important to respond to a message instantly. It is important to watch the movie here and now.

Our parents bought a home to live. But today, many people are buying real estate to `show`. Earlier, having your own house was a matter of satisfaction, but today, where you live is a status statement of sorts. Of course, there is nothing wrong in craving for a good lifestyle. But if the cost is your peace of mind and intrinsic happiness, there is surely something to think about.

Earlier, there used to be three classes of people – the rich, middle class and the poor. Now, there seems to be a fourth category, what I call as the Rich Middles Class Labourer (RML). The RML is a peculiar class where a family of four lives in a 3 BHK apartment, drives an expensive car and has five figure salary (compare this with times when multiple families shared a single apartment!). Yet, at the end of the every month, there is lack of funds, as EMIs and lifestyle expenses keep taking their toll. The wants are greater than the needs for this family. They are actually middle class with a pretentious rich lifestyle. They are often frustrated with the kind of job, but have to `labour` it out for maintaining their lifestyle, settling the bills and EMIs. After all, a real home is where the heart is, not where the EMIs are.

It is a paradox that while income levels have skyrocketed, savings have plummeted, against an India which earned less but saved more. Today, we eat more. The food is expensive and unhealthy. But my generation grew up eating the healthy and classical roti-sabji with the occasional indulgence at the nearby popular Udipi hotel. While things change, not everything about the past is irrelevant. The classical way of living had its constraints, but it ingrained in us a sense of responsibility. Today's reckless spending and dramatic lifestyle are presenting a great outer picture, but creating an inner vacuum.

The realities of life definitely call for a reinvention of thinking and living styles. But just as the `bland` roti cannot become an `interesting` egg roll without wheat, the fundamentals of life lie hidden within the grander and expansive nature of existence. Simplicity is at the core of existence. We need to stay connected to simplicity for appropriate leverage of the abundance of opportunities and choices. As a society, we need to not just enjoy our choices, but make more intelligent ones. Keeping it simple even amidst the plethora of choices is still the best policy.

Simplicity is not just in our lifestyle, it is in the way we feel about life. A simple way to connect to the fundamentals is to ask ourselves once in a while, what really at the end of the day gives us happiness? The answers would be obvious - a happy home to return to, a glass of water, dal-chawal and a cosy bed or floor to sleep on. How we live will ultimately determine how we die. The day it's time to go, we'll be judged by how peacefully we occupy the six inches of real estate on the ground.

So, in a way, we need to live to die and not die to live.