Reducing conspicuous consumption
The Planning Commission of India experts pegged the poverty line at a ridiculous Rs.23/ per day, a few years ago, and met with widespread criticism, It is quite true that with this amount one cannot have a breakfast even in a village hotel, or buy the most essential food items for even two square meals every day.
The plight of the poor is so bad in India, whether in the urban or rural areas. High inflation is a real cause for worry for these unfortunate people, who are destined to lead miserable lives.
Be that as it may, what do we, the middle-classes, the rich and the IT crowd do, with our money? What happens in our marriages? What happens on other social occasions?
The answer is simple. Lavish weddings, with very sumptuous food. Whether it is breakfast or lunch, or dinner, the amount of food that is wasted can easily feed one hundred adults at any point in time.
We just do not have any conscience. In fact, there is not much of a difference in any part of the country. North or South, East or West, things are more or less the same.
In every wedding, there are at least ten items served. Of course, very little of each item is served. But even this is too much, even for an adult, and for the child, less said the better. Everything gets wasted. Worse, even ice creams and fruit salads get wasted. The mount involved runs into several hundreds of thousands of rupees -- five or six even for the average Tamil wedding, irrespective of caste.
I have seen Punjabi weddings, where the bridegroom comes on horse back. The elaborate food items served are simply too much for anyone to eat.
We do not even spare a thought as to how we can care for the poor, by reserving a portion of the money that we blow up in the big shopping malls in the country. Why should college girls, for example, only wear jeans that cost three thousand rupees apiece? Would they not look good if they wear jeans available at other retail shops?
What about the money we blow up in the costliest of restaurants, on every weekend? Even by conservative estimates, the upper middle class families blow up three thousand rupees on "eating out" in Chennai, every weekend.
Similarly, when any Union Minister visits his home town, there are elaborate arrangements made to just "welcome" the great personality, by his or her local cronies, who do not even think of the poor.
The list goes on and on.
We can indeed reduce at least a portion of all this conspicuous consumption. We cannot solve any problem through legislation. We need a terrific attitudinal change. In certain cases, this is already happening.
For example, certain very placed bridegrooms of several communities have started putting their foot down and are rejecting any form of dowry in Tamil Nadu. This is a welcome change.
Similarly, the prospective mothers-in-law, in many cases, have opted for simple marriages. Yet, many more changes need to be done.
A massive movement to educate people to reduce conspicuous consumption should be launched. This could be endorsed by well known actors or cricket stars or other celebrities, to get the buy-in.If some such celebrity were to demonstrate how to reduce conspicuous consumption and follows that up with some generous donation to the poor, the world will be a much better place to live in. For, people in India follow what celebrities say.
Secondly, education in schools and colleges in each of these aspects might as well work wonders, when such young people get married. Already, inter-caste and even inter-State ( for example a Tamil girl marrying a Punjabi boy) marriages have reduced conspicuous consumption to some extent.
But a lot more needs to be done. Any new idea or innovative suggestion can well be placed for public consumption and debate. Conspicuous consumption is a crime -- a crime that has no place in a poor country like India.
Let us all wake up now and do our bit.
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