At about this time last year my elder son quit his very well paying job as a senior executive in a multi-national: he had had enough of the El Dorado mirage sold by the IIMs and IITs. He had been working 14 hour days non-stop for 16 years, paying Rs. 65000 a month for a flat in Gurgaon where he just went to sleep, lunched and dined exclusively on Zomato and Food Panda, could never find the time to relax in our Purani Koti retreat near Shimla, his liver was beginning to get pickled in Blender's Pride. In short, he was on the verge of a burn out, maybe a couple of puffs away from being stubbed out like a cigarette. One day he saw the light, ignored Mr. Narayan Murthy's exhortation to work 70 hour weeks, regarding with justified suspicion Ms Sitharaman's pious advice to fight work pressure through "inner strength by reaching out to God." His decision to ignore her too was made easier, he told me later, by the possibility that by "God" she meant Mr. Modi, and since he himself "worked" 18 hours, reaching out to him would be futile (as Kangana Ranaut has recently discovered). So, one fine foggy morning in Gurgaon he pinged his boss that he was quitting (that's how they do the hiring, firing and resigning these days, no "Dear sir, it is with profound regret that ..." letters as in our days), packed his suitcase and pooch in his car and joined us in Purani Koti. He now lives off his savings, work-from-home consultancy projects, articles on the auto world, and "revdis" from my pension whenever the state govt. periodically emerges from bankruptcy and doles it out to me. He now has the time to indulge in his passion for photography and gardening, and is currently trying to grow bananas and "peepul" trees at 7000 feet in an area which gets three feet of snow every winter! I'm personally sceptical of that last bit, but who knows- after all, they laughed at Satyanand Stokes when he brought apple plants from the USA, didn't they? And today Himachal is an apple state. If my son succeeds we may yet be a banana republic soon.
Welcome to the world of "Slow Living", the latest concept that is catching on with Gen X (or Gen Z) across the world. More and more of them are just chucking the rat race with its slave-driving, toxic work culture and sweat shop values which just last month took the lives of Anna Sebastian in Mangalore and Sadaf Fatima in Lucknow. These bright youngsters prefer to return back to nature, renewing relationships with family and friends, and doing what they WANT to do- not what neo-capitalism, voodoo economics and the Sanjiv Sanyals of the world expect them to do. Slow Living is the next best thing to a govt. job where you can effectively retire the day you join and nobody will even notice even as Pay Commissions keep hiking your salary and pension with predictable regularity. He has my full support: it is this generation which can perhaps save our once blue planet since my generation has completely abdicated its responsibility.
This choice of life-style, however, is not all fun and games: it requires the making of responsible choices- in consumption, expenditure, manner of living- since one's income levels drop substantially. It forces one to make an inventory of the important things in life and discard the redundant, superfluous and the wasteful materialism inherent in the "keeping up with the Junejas " South Delhi mentality. It goes hand-in-hand with another trend being increasingly embraced by planet conscious Gen X- Minimalism.
Minimalism is simply "living with less" by decluttering one's physical spaces, reducing unnecessary consumption, seeking quality over quantity, travelling less, curation of possessions to have only the essentials, focusing on personal values rather than reacting to competitive pressures. This is what Slow Living is in essence, and I am now witnessing more and more youngsters consciously opting for this life style and minimalist framework. Just to cite examples of how this works: there is the "sniff test" for clothes- do your clothes need to be washed so frequently, consuming more water, soap, power? Sniff the clothes for malodorous smells- this will probably tell you that you could wear them for another couple of days before consigning them to the washing machine. (A single washing machine discharges 480 kgs of green house gases every year). Then there's the "one in, one out" principle: don't keep adding to your possessions unnecessarily- buy an item only as a replacement, not as an addition, discard the first before buying the second. "Tiny living" is another idea that is gaining traction- small homes (why do you need five bedrooms when it's just you and your wife and maybe one kid?), away from the congestion and pollution of metros, off-grid as regards power and water, self sufficient with solar and rain water harvesting.
A minimalist life style is good for mother Earth too- the culture of over-consumption, so assiduously promoted by economists, governments and big corporates, has led to the depletion of natural resources and ravaging of forests, rivers, lakes and mountains. Reducing this demand for goods and products and minimising possessions lowers the strain on the natural environment, reduces waste, cuts down on carbon emissions. It is a far more sustainable model of life than the blind GDP growth driven models being foisted on us; in fact, I would go further and say that it is the ONLY life style choice which can save us and the planet from another extinction.
And here's the final, clinching argument which has eluded us but has been instinctively grasped by the younger generation- you are happier as a person when you have minimised your needs. This has been scientifically captured now in a concept which is known as the Easterlin Paradox. This states that happiness does not increase with more money. Happiness is directly proportionate to money up to a certain point, but once your basic needs are met more money does not mean more happiness. After this point happiness is defined, not by money, but by meaning of life, purpose, relationships, contribution to society. (The reader is probably reminded here of Maslow's theory of Hierarchy of Needs). In fact, without the latter components, after that point more money means more worries, tensions, fears and even depression. Bob Dylan put it in a much simpler, easy-to-understand language six decades ago when he sang: "When you ain't got nothing, you've got nothing to lose...."
I'm glad our sons and daughters are beginning to hear this music.
Minimalism is a total lifestyle rethink and change that is not easy to incorporate...I really admire the adaptive thinking of Gen X that seems aligned to our changing environmental reality. It is so liberating too. It also validates the fact that all trends come full circle. Or is it that the triggers of such trends also have a circular time frame? Minimalism allows Mr more time to ponder on the winds of change and the messages they bring...i sync with Nature🎊🥳
ReplyDeleteTrue, Minimalism does not come easy. But when does a responsible choice come easily? Easier said than done.
DeleteSlow Living is an Idea whose Time has come !!
As a former Civil Services Time Toiler, Avay Shukla's ideas Resonate !
EF Schumacher the humanist economist wrote "If greed were not the master of modern man--ably assisted by envy--how could it be that the frenzy of economism does not abate as higher "standards of living" are attained, and that it is precisely the richest societies which pursue their economic advantage with the greatest ruthlessness? How could we explain the almost universal refusal on the part of the rulers of the rich societies--where organized along private enterprise or collective enterprise lines--to work towards the humanisation of work? It is only necessary to assert that something would reduce the "standard of living" and every debate is instantly closed. That soul-destroying, meaningless, mechanical, monotonous, moronic work is an insult to human nature which must necessarily and inevitably produce either escapism or aggression, and that no amount of of "bread and circuses" can compensate for the damage done--these are facts which are neither denied nor acknowledged but are met with an unbreakable conspiracy of silence--because to deny them would be too obviously absurd and to acknowledge them would condemn the central preoccupation of modern society as a crime against humanity.”
ReplyDeleteGo out there and enjoy the little that our powers that be have left for folk to go back to.
ReplyDeleteGiven a little more time, what is still a beautiful country, will end up as a concrete jungle with the population drowned in garbage!!!
This piece was 'music' to my ears. Despite being from IIM and IIT. And Hindu College!
ReplyDeleteEnvironmentalism should follow as a corollary to Minimalism. Mahatma Gandhi started spinning khadi towards swadeshi minimalism to resist British yarn commercially and politically. He remains the only one who could drape himself in tatters and in doing so, earned the unqualified respect that came with the title of the “naked fakir”.
ReplyDeleteFast forward to last week, when IIT Bombay’s Professor Chetan Solanki, or Solar Gandhi sported socks with noticeable holes at a 5 star hotel event, which went viral. He echoed stirring sentiments about ensuring a net reduction in his personal carbon emissions, saying that while he can afford new socks, nature cannot. One wonders if his profound declaration was about conserving the environment, or his grace - because the holes in his socks were exposing more than just his message! Regardless, he has impressed netizens sufficiently for now.
Humour aside, is Minimalism truly the ideal counter to the relentless rat race? To skill the young with modern tools of management, research and technology, to arm them with corporate techniques and global practices, and then to drop the Minimalist shroud on them as they set out to make their destiny, is perhaps more unfair on them than a slave driver’s exhortations to put in 70 weekly hours of toil. They need to go through the rigour and ruthlessness of the working grind for some amount of time before deciding whether the culture is acceptable to them or toxic to reject. They could be permitted the excesses of irrational procurement as a catharsis for their maniacal work schedules and grueling routines. When they mature, they will understand like Mr. Shukla’s son did and resolve to go minimalist.
In the practical realm, perhaps the replacement theory is more executable than anything else and embraces the contours of minimalism broadly and best. It is the only workable theory during a stretched budget that balances an individual's sanity and vanity!
Mr. Shukla has broached an absorbing subject this week and has made it witty as much as it is weighty. An entreaty - please retire the “sniff test”, Sir, as a testing tool of Minimalism!
To clarify, Mr Patankar, I was advocating two concepts in my blog- Slow Living and Minimalism. The two are not antithetical to each other but complementary. The first is an individual choice, depending on the work culture that prevails in their working environment, which by all accounts is getting more and more stressful and toxic as corporates push for better bottom lines. It distorts the work-life balance, leading to divorces, suicides and mental issues. Increasingly, countries are passing " Do not disturb" laws which prohibit employers from contacting or sending official messages after office hours: this is an indication of how serious the issue is. Not everyone, however, can opt to quit for the Slow Life- that would depend on various factors such as personal finances, family obligations, parental support, etc. Which is why it has to be a personal decision, whether after 10 years or 15 years, or never. But it is telling that a lot of youngsters are doing precisely that.
ReplyDeleteMinimalism, on the other hand, is a much broader, and perhaps, more crucial concept: it applies across the board, whether one is employed, unemployed, self employed or rolling in the gravy. It is an imperative for the very survival of the planet, and the onus for that rests on the better off sections of society. According to a 2022 report of the World Inequality Lab (of which the Nobel laureate Thomas Piketty was one of the authors) in India, the bottom 50% of the population emits 1 m.t of CO2 per capita per annum, while the top 1% ( the "carbon millionaires") emit 32.80 m.t. per capita. There is a global perspective to this too- the USA, which is the biggest polluter on a per capita basis, emits 13.68 m.t. while the per capita figure for Burundi is 0.02. The wealthy are killing the planet, and perhaps the human race. But it's the poor who will die first. The time for finding excuses and justifications for over-consumption is long past- Minimalism is non-negotiable. Which is why the "sniff test" has to be on the prescription!
In Mumbai where I live the two concepts of Slow Life and Minimalism have not made any impact on Gen X . I know cases where high end property are added as investments by those who already own a 4 - 5 bedroom flat with swimming pool , polo ground community hall etc. They also own several cars like sedans SUVs EVs and hybrid vehicles. The newspaper full page color advertisements would show a huge hall with a large French window opening to view the pool with deck chairs and swim suit clad beauties sipping beer. The persons living in this mansion are not seen in the hall but in the kitchen seated on the floor leaving one on other with amorous eyes. Yeh hai meri Mumbai
ReplyDeleteDylan also sang "you gotta serve somebody". If so, let it be nature. I'm no gen x, y or z. I'm retired post covid & happily into slow living & the peace of mind that comes with minimalism. But can this become a trend among young working professionals? I seriously doubt it. They are brimming with the wonder that is life & all the elusive achievements. It's only when the slow or fast burn sets in that slow living starts making sense. It's going to be a while before this realization becomes a trend & then maybe not, because an overpopulated planet will not allow a vacuum to exist. For every rat race cop out there will be 10 more ready & raring to go.
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