A few days ago when we were on our way back from a nearby mall, with dad in the drivers seat, my parents were discussing about how different life was in the early 80s and how it has changed over the years. My dad moved from Chennai to Bangalore at a very young age and was narrating how 6 of them (his parents and 3 other siblings) lived in a three Bedroom house with a small kitchen and an outdoor toilet. He told us how they'd get clothes only once or twice a year. Their parents would buy a long length of cloth and get a local tailor to stitch the same outfits for my father's siblings as well as his cousins. This was apparently a common thing to do those days. Even though they belonged to the middle class which was growing even back then, the family was very careful to buy things within a certain limit. My dad was given pens which he would lose on a regular basis, so to make up for the lost pens, they would use the remaining parts of older pens to form functional pens. (Recycling was popular, even back then :P).
They would travel by foot or by public buses to various places around the city. My dad recalled the difficulties of living in the 80s and despite the difficulty, there was a simplicity in life. Everyone in the colony lived together as a family, sharing happiness and sorrow. Every door was open to the children of the houses who would come in and share the food that was being eaten. They'd play, fight and have a wonderful time with each other. They had to go to the libraries and meticulously read through several books for hours at end before they found the information they were looking for. They would write letters to each other to keep in touch, even phone calls would be rare. My mother had a very similar experience, with ration shops which would as the name suggests ration out commodities to the head of the family to support the family for a month, which had to further rationed to ensure that there were no shortages. "Transistors" (Radio) was a rare luxury which only one person was allowed to control.
They would travel by foot or by public buses to various places around the city. My dad recalled the difficulties of living in the 80s and despite the difficulty, there was a simplicity in life. Everyone in the colony lived together as a family, sharing happiness and sorrow. Every door was open to the children of the houses who would come in and share the food that was being eaten. They'd play, fight and have a wonderful time with each other. They had to go to the libraries and meticulously read through several books for hours at end before they found the information they were looking for. They would write letters to each other to keep in touch, even phone calls would be rare. My mother had a very similar experience, with ration shops which would as the name suggests ration out commodities to the head of the family to support the family for a month, which had to further rationed to ensure that there were no shortages. "Transistors" (Radio) was a rare luxury which only one person was allowed to control.
Transistors of the 80s
As dad narrated the story, me and my brother reacted in very similar ways, we were both shocked and at the same time we were stunned at the way they lived. We both knew that things had changed in the past two decades, but to hear a first hand account of the life we never experienced was intriguing yet baffling. We lived a life of luxury in comparison to our parents. Today, we have the Internet which does everything for us, be it a search for the materials we need for a project or just our entertainment. Each of us in the family has our own tablet or laptop which allows us to access the net whenever we please. We now have a three bedroom apartment for four people, a swimming pool at our disposal, a fully equipped gym and a breathtaking view of the city. Moreover, we have so many other resources at our disposal, that the younger version of my parents may not have even dreamed of. The progress that we've made is shocking. We're still a part of the burgeoning middle class, so much has changed in 20 years that it seems almost incomprehensible.The life we live is so much different, so much easier, but the ease and the resources have led to a sharper competition for almost everything ranging from education to sports. Now you need to chase everything you want. Despite the luxuries we have in life, has progress really changed us for the better? Very few people can trust their neighbours any more these days, very few of us leave our doors open in fear that someone would walk in and steal our possessions. We live in perpetual fear that something is going to happen to us.
So that leaves me wondering, despite all the positive aspects of progress, is it actually all that good?
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