Log kya
kahenge!
There are many vices in societies that are
already identified and against which people are warned and sometimes even
treated. There seems to be one which has not yet caught attention of people,
perhaps it is the most insidious one. Ostentation is like a psychoactive drug
that takes you into self-deception and blinds you in respect to your own self.
Nowadays it has become a trend among most people to show off their assets and
financial capabilities. May be by this they want to show the level of happiness
in their life to others. People don’t miss upon a single chance where they get
a platform to demonstrate all this. It is the morbidity of one’s mind which
derives pleasure from the thought that they are being recognized by people
around them. This roots to ones confidence. Such a mind lacks self-confidence.
To a self-confident person external approbation or acceptance plays no role in
evaluation of his worth. Hence, his existence and way of living is not affected
by popular beliefs. Whereas to a diffident even opinions of others matters much
and hence he makes sure to do things in a way that he confirms with
contemporary beliefs and thereby gains acceptance of people with whom he is
associated with. His seeming confidence remains in a suspended state with a
volatile existence with is influenced by external factors. Hence to lead a
satisfied life he tries to build his confidence by gathering other's
acceptances. What according to him confidence is soon crosses the line and
becomes a question of ego in his oblivion. Since then he is prompted to actions
which feeds and satisfies his ego and thereby it keeps growing. Eventually
under the influence of his ego he becomes addicted to feeling good about
himself and thus he never misses upon any chance whereby he can gain acceptance
of people around him.
There are financial implications to this habit. It may not be that harmful
to people who are wealthy but it affects badly to people who belong to middle
and lower strata of the society. It is actually a burden for them but they
carry on this with the fear as to what people would think about them and hence
their acceptance will be in danger. I call this "Log kya kahenge
attitude". Most people in India have this mental outlook. Almost everything
important right from choosing a suitor for a nubile girl or a boy, even the age
to get married, which academic stream to specialize in, whether one should
start his own venture or take up a job, how much money to be spent on pompous
celebrations on different occasions, etc. is done with the thought in mind as
to what would people have to say about it.
In cities of India a middle class family on an average spends Rs. 9-10 lakh for
a pompous wedding. This money is spent on clothes, jewelry, gifts, decorations,
banquets, etc. No expense is such to seem like a sound investment. Many
families take loans to finance such occasions. The absurdity of such acts comes
out when you think patiently as to where this middle class man could have utilized
this resource for betterment of his life. In India people consider pursuing
sports, fine arts or other arts a waste of time and money. People are
philistine and carry strong views that these things are not going to help them
earn money. Perhaps to them a formal education is the only sure shot way to
earn. When it comes to specializing in a subject people look down upon if
it is related to arts or culture. Here also only engineers, doctors, CAs and
the like are respected. The general disposition towards education is pedantic.
People don't consider travelling a part of holistic learning experience.
Visiting different countries to know people there, their way of living, their
thoughts and culture are just not on people's mind. For them this carries no importance
in the development of an individual and is a transaction of loss of money and
time. Enjoyment and seeking pleasure is considered bad as again there is no
visible gain here. People in general carry and advocate puritanism. Also if you
think about starting your own venture majority will be against you and back the
idea of a secured job in an MNC. After graduation many students face parents
advising them to drop the idea of further studies as they have been spending
since long and now they have only enough to spend for their wedding. And
obviously there will be low works of charities as people won't come out on
surface from their own debts. Moreover, this attitude doesn’t favour charity
where they are not benefitted. When it comes to things which really
matter people count on how much they are going to get in return against the
amount they are investing into it.
Imagine the state of mind of people who are ready to die everyday in want to
live two days just out of the thought that how people would estimate their
worth. For a developing nation it is a daunting issue: can a middle-class man
afford this luxury when so many things are in question. Certainly not! It
impacts the economy in a bad way. If they think pragmatically and invest in things
which would elevate their conscience instead of ego, they would be better at
bearing many mental and financial crises including like the one as inflation.
For now just hope that the desire and addiction to ostentation doesn't exceed
fortune of people.
People
need to understand and answer one basic question, “What would you prefer:
Spending Rs. 3000 each day for almost 300 days of your life or spending
Rs. 9 lakh in 2 days?”
Let’s
get rid of this bourgeois mindset and get educated in true sense!
Context
of use:
philistine
A smug, ignorant, especially middle-class
person who is regarded as being indifferent or antagonistic to artistic and
cultural values.
pedantic
Characterized by a narrow, often ostentatious
concern for book learning and formal rules.
puritan
A person who is strict and disapproves of many kinds of
enjoyment.
bourgeois
Held to be preoccupied with respectability and
material values.
