Taresh Gupta
That time of the year has arrived and the festive flavor has already set in the air. The city is bustling with energy and excitement, and the traffic cops are finding trouble regulating the vehicles on the road. As people get their new clothes stitched up, the houses too are being cleaned up to the welcome the guests pouring in. Various stalls, carts, shops and departmental stores add on to their shelves new goodies up for sale; fromdiyas to chocolate packings, from decorative lights to rangolicolours and what not. Sweetshops and bakeries too are having their time of the year and people working everywhere have got their Diwali bonuses, for them to splurge on food, fireworks and fun. Reading a newspaper these days seems like going through a mega advertisement bonanza wherein every store in the city and nowadays, even online stores are offering discounts, to cash in on the festive spending thrill. People working and studying in far off states wait for these holidays, to make it up to their families and friends and try not to miss any fun. Yes, that time of the year is here.
As we move ahead with our festivities, we also seldom look back to our childhood days when energy and time were in abundance, the holidays at school added on to our excitement and bursting crackers was what every child eagerly waited for, and there was just nothing to worry about. There was a social life quite different from the social network that we know of today, people dropped in at their family’s or friends’ to have a cup of tea or a game of cards anytime, and the customary Diwali gift distribution was less of a drill and more of a way of socializing and reviving the personal connect that we shared with our loved ones. But, times have changed a bit if not more.
Today when we think of happiness and joy, we tend to think more of materialistic possessions and acquisitions and less of the people and the bond we share with them. Some of our relations and interactions have become transactional in nature and we too have convinced ourselves of it being the way of the world today. Today, very fortunate are those who have a real connection and bond with their friends and families, and even more fortunate are those who get their support through the thick and thin of their lives. Gone are those days when children used to play in the parks nearby, and climbing the trees to pluck the juiciest of the fruits was a part of their daily evening entertainment. While scrolling through our phones, we often ignore the real world outside our windows and have made gadgets our windows to the world.
Yes, the times have changed but what has changed the most is our passion for consumption. It takes the form of our aspiration to purchase fanciest of clothes, swankiest of gadgets or costliest of vehicles and on the other hand, family, community and broader societal harmony tend to take a backseat. I believe, this is where we are going a little wrong. Although, not everyone wants to, or even afford to engage their minds and spend their money on such consumption but anyways, the order of the society today has become such that it makes one feel deprived of something in the absence of such possessions. A significant role here has been played by media and marketing campaigns by glorifying purchase behavior beautifully, using the best form of appeals to strike at the heart of their audience and make them desire what they do not need, or did not want initially. It is also widely believed and accepted that consumption habits are an indicator of prosperity, but should we reach to a stage that they become drivers of our happiness and progress?
Spending on things we love surely gives us happiness, but the problem is that things were created to be used and people were created to be loved, but some of us have begun doing the opposite, although to their own detriment.
This festive season let us all mend our ways a little. Let us surround ourselves with our loved ones and let us also allow revival of real social connections to be the cause of our happiness. While spending on ourselves, let us also spare a thought for and include in our celebration the less fortunate, who are deprived of resources or their loved ones’ presence. Let us scroll through our phone contact lists, or telephone diaries and make a call to our long lost friends. Let us pay a visit to someone who least expects us, but would be glad to have us over a cup of tea. Let us all realize the value of human connections and also realize why the man is called a ‘social animal’. So, this festive season let us truly create hope and happiness and this Diwali, let there be light.
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