When even more is less

Priya S. Tandon

Some verbal analogies are intriguing. Some decades ago, a job was called naukri. The earnings of the said naukar; the sole breadwinner of the family, were enough to feed a family of nine; hence nau-kri. It was sufficient for the parents, spouse, children and guests too. Lifestyles were simple. There was no concept of air-conditioning, vacationing abroad, multiple vehicles, branded clothing and footwear, jewels, etc. Because less was more.

Some years hence, the term chaakari came into common parlance. This was perhaps when the concept of nuclear families and ‘Hum do, Hamare do’ became popular. The emoluments from chaa-kari were enough to meet the expenses of a family of four. Nothing less, nothing more.

As the cost of living escalated, earnings came to be known as tankha. Tankha was just sufficient for meeting one’s own needs. Hence tan-kha! It became important for each one to earn. The principle was ‘To each, his own’. What mattered was ‘I, me and myself.’ Just this and nothing more.

Time moved on and vetan happened. Now, earnings were not even enough to feed oneself, hence ve-tan. Sigh! Enter loans and finance schemes. Udhaar! Take udhaar (loan) and live life king size... increase your wants, needs and desires. Self-gratification is the key. Earn more and spend more!

Let’s zoom into today. It seems people work only to buy themselves a cellphone and what they earn is called salary (read cell-ary). They believe in ‘I earn, I spend’, ‘My money, my life’. The world is in the palm of everyone’s hand. Everything is just a click of a button away. Alexa and Siri are at your beck and call. You have everything but you still want more. Someone said, ‘Cellphones are called cell phones because they ensure that you stay buried in the cell (jail) of your phone!’

Sometimes we ask, ‘Kitna kamaya?’ ‘Kitna kaam aaya?’ God alone knows whether it is enough to satisfy our growing desires… for more and yet more!

Talking of earnings, did you get your paycheck? In this age of netbanking, this is what we do all day… pay and check; pay and check. If your desires are copious, you have to keep paying because without ‘pay’n’ (read pain), there is no gain.

With the consumer market booming, online shopping, discount sales, buy-one-get-one-free offers, brands and bargains, flights and cruises, credit cards and debit cards; for everything we buy, we say, ‘Just this and nothing more’.

But really speaking, does it boil down to just this and nothing more? Or are we always left wanting for more? Care for a ceiling on desires, anyone?