Not so long ago, we saw an exodus
of migrant labourers trying desperately to get back 'home', not for the fear of
catching a disease, but for the fear of facing hunger. We realised that about
one third of us are daily wage earners and they live from day to day, having
very little left with themselves to handle an unprecedented crisis. We have
vulnerable people all around us, but they remain invisible, although they
construct our roads, malls, run our retail chains, produce in the factories or
cook and clean our houses. There were many disturbing visuals that were
created, little children carrying weights on their heads, walking incessantly,
a little child desperately trying to wake up his dead mother, some dry 'rotis',
wrapped in a paper, scattered around a railway track, where some of the
labourers had died in sleep, pregnant women walking, infants dying on labour
trains....
Did we not feel thankful for having
a roof over us, a surety of having food on our table, and a future to look
forward to? Did we feel remorseful for the millions of people going through extreme
misery? An economic growth rate is a parameter of a promise of a better future
for the disadvantaged people in a country. That's where the coinage of
'trillion-dollar economy', terminology is crafted that brings hope to the
disadvantaged, the middle class and the rich, of a more comfortable life. The
daily wage earners who toil at construction sites will convert this dream into a reality. It is not possible
without them. Will they also ask for a fair share of the economic growth? If
the share distribution is discriminatory, will they turn hostile? Does unequal
distribution of income increase unrest in the society?
The life created by a modern
civilization is the most comfortable life in the history of mankind. You can click
a button and make fire, to cook your food, open the tap and have water, have
light whenever you want, fill your petrol tank and can travel anywhere, you can
buy ready-to eat food stuff, and can enjoy fruits, without having to make an
effort to pick them up. This kind of comfort has been achieved by technological
advancement and exploitation of natural resources. In the last 200 years
mankind has exploited more natural resources than the last 2000 years of
written history. Technology changes life much faster than the change is even perceived
and processed by a human being. He is just left to cope up with the change.
There is no time to sit and reflect whether the change he is supposed to bring
in his life, is desired, required or aspired.
Thus, our houses have been filled
up with discarded clothes, gadgets, furniture, toys, food, and a whole lot of
other things. We are forced to keep up with the trends. I argued with my
architect that I did not want a false ceiling in my house, I thought it wasn’t
needed. I did not like to have non reachable, unclean corners. I did not like a falsely lit up house, I did not like to have too much of vinyl
around, and I am happy gazing at a simple white ceiling, rather than an artificial, flashy, suspension looming at me. More importantly, I
was not interested in having to replace it with ‘something else more trendy’, some years later. I
was at the risk of being judged as untrendy, miserly, disdainful, difficult, client.
Lots of discussions and arguments later, the one who questioned change, won
over the one who was trying to thrust it with a force, giving no time to
reconcile to it.
False ceiling is a euphemism for all the comforts that are not so essential in modern living. Technology has made arduous task of constructing a house relatively easy. We can undertake construction at a large scale and provide everyone in the world with the comfort of a home. From mining to manufacturing, there are many industries that thrive on the construction sector. It makes sense because food, water and shelter are the basic needs of a human being. The problem occurs when these houses start getting piled up with unnecessary inventories. A bigger house will have more than a smaller one.
Lockdown gave us an opportunity to think about false ceilings. Technological change is so fast that it doesn't allow us to sit back and think, where we are going and what we have left behind. We got to know, during lockdown that there are many who do not have the basic amenities to lead a life. Perhaps half of the world does not have it. It will take a lot of hard work, for these people to get a comfortable house to live in, an assured plate of food on their table, education for their children and an access to healthcare. When that has happened, clean air and water may be scarce, because of incessant exploitation of natural resources. That will not happen because a lot of people would have risen out of poverty. That will happen because the other half would have gotten used to a certain lifestyle.
Social influencers, marketing machinery, product development strategies that spoil people by giving them lot of choice, technological development and scientific innovation, are the forces that do not let a human being think much. They create ideal lifestyle, led by some and aspired by many. Noise is created in such a way, that utility of products is not debated, they have to be just adopted. Local food chains, handloom and handicrafts make life richer. There is an old world charm in living simply, close to nature, albeit with some of the modern comforts. Lockdown provided us a time to think. Modern lifestyle has resulted in a threat of several lifestyle diseases in people. half of the world in scared to lead half of the life years sick.
A lot of us understood during lockdown that ready to eat foods, a compulsion to have individual cars to travel everyday, lot many gadgets we are forced to change every two to three years, are unnecessary. If we do not have them we are fine. Vinyl, plastic, synthetic fibres and processed food have limited use. Central air-conditioning is unnecessary. Individual vehicles are unnecessary. Products are designed in such a way that their shelf life is smaller, so that the consumer is forced to switch on to a newer product soon. There is a carbon footprint to this scheme of things in the world. Some people will argue that economic growth rate provide jobs, which will enhance well-being. This also is a fallacy. Jobs can be created in the right sectors, agriculture, health and education. We do not need to work for the things we do not need. At macro level it is a waste of effort, creates inequalities and results in social disruption. Will politico-economic system find a solution to it? No. Is technological development bad? No.
False ceiling creates a fallacy, if it is thrusted upon us. We will have to be wiser.
We will have to learn to question lifestyle choices that are thrown upon us. We will have to understand what is essential to survive and thrive. We have to sit back and think and make logical choices. Machine Learning in the next ten years, will relieve a human being of many analytical time consuming jobs, as manufacturing relieved him of arduous jobs. He would be free to think, ponder over the essence of life and enjoy the bounties of nature or attain self-actualization.
Finally, I believe, a human being is a rational, compassionate, conscientious animal ! Capable of creating a beautiful life !
