Affluence as a moving target

I grew up in a middle class family, and I have fond memories of staying in a modest rented house. My father was assistant professor at a reputed law college which fetched him a meagre salary of about Rs. 400 per month.? An ownership property was a luxury he simply could not afford.

Years later, my father bought a site and built a house, thanks to an astronomical housing loan he took for the purpose. We were five kids in the house at that time, but we happily shared the hall which also served as our bedroom. We were so thrilled to have shifted into a house of our own that never did the thought of not having separate rooms bug any of us.

We had a common toilet, and it was common to patiently wait for one’s turn to use it, especially during the busy morning hours. During summer, we had a torrid time without a fan, which was also a luxury we couldn’t afford at that point. Later, when we had a fan installed, we deemed the occasion worthy of a grand celebration. After exams, when we occassionally dined out, it was a moment to cherish. Small things mattered a lot, and the big delight was beyond words.???

As the years rolled by, things began to change slowly but steadily for us, and fancy notions of affluence crept into our lives from all corners in both obvious and elusive ways. My father became the college principal and took a loan to buy a four wheeler. We began eating out in good hotels more regularly than before. Many of the things we saw as luxuries transformed into needs within no time.

?Today, when I see kids of this era, I am amazed to note their demanding nature. They want a room for their exclusive use, they want their own smart phones, they want their own cars. Television has to be a giant size flat screen set by default, and home theatre is must. Hotels are not hotels unless they are five stars.

?Clearly, affluence moves up as lifestyles evolve over time. Our definitions of affluence change drastically; we begin to define it in terms of the luxury we expect, be it a bigger car, bigger house in a plush locality, or a vacation to some exotic place.?

Is there an end to the moving target of affluence? Possibly not because affluence is clearly a strong motivator that pushes us to move up the value chain of work. Nevertheless, we need to reflect deep on this question and ask ourselves: can we ever become like Kemparaju, the smiling porter I met at Bengaluru railway station, who was deeply content with the Rs 500 he earned per day.

?Maybe contentment is more an individual thing – some are never content, some are always content, and some are conditionally content. Probably this diversity is what makes a society dynamic. Having said that, we need to probe beneath the surface and ask ourselves – are we going to live this endless loop of affluence or are we going to talk to the younger generation about it and try and create some awareness of the acute need to reflect on, and maybe check, the moving target of affluence at some point.

?Asking a few probing questions to our true selves may well lead us to many credible answers!?????