Sunday Special-When even more is less!

 Sunday Special!

'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'(Government Servant); 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 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 'tankhah'.('Tan' means body,'Khah' Filling one's body)  Tankhah 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(Ve-Meaning they -others) 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. 'Get more by means other than salary and spend more!'

Let’s zoom into today. It seems people work only to buy themselves a cell phone 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, ‘Celluphones 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 pay check? In this age of net banking, 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?

   Penned by   :      Priya S. Tandon

Explanation & Illustration by :      Tejinder Kamboj

P.S. (A peep into the past)

Once I told my children that At the time of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the salary of a cavalry sepoy was Rs.7/month which included horse allowance. The normal spending was Rs.2 on the horse,Rs.2 on self and Rs 3 used to be sent to the family. They thought I was drunk and left me. I sternly called them back to listen till I finish. Timidly they came back and lent me their ear.

I continued that their Great-grandfather was Naib(Assistant) to Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala his salary was Rs.45/month. and their Grandfather was Maharaja's 'Roz Naamcha' (Daily diary) writer his salary was 'Rs.35/month. I noticed that they were laughing in sleeves thinking that their Papa was in a mood of shooting the breeze and sought my permission to leave. I told them that I had not yet finished keep sitting and listen.

Then I told them that after Finishing my B.Tech. I got a job of Assistant Engineer (Gazetted status) in Capital project Chandigarh at a basic salary of Rs.250/-P.M. with yearly raise of Rs.25/-,they  opened their sleepy eyes taking me seriously that I was talking sense.

I showed them my prized possession of a Radio(German make Grundig) that I had bought for Rs.50/- out of my first salary.

My Grand Mother whose name was 'Punjabi'(Punjab Kaur) used to say, "Tell me what you want, I will tell you how to do without it!"

My father was against purchasing Gold(Price was Rs.70 per Tola).No Jewellery was given in dowry to my 4 sisters in their marriage. The jewellery owned by my mother was divided among them as a ritual of marriage. Cash was deposited in their bank accounts for their further studies.(At that time Girls were not allowed to go to school).None of my four 'Chachas'(uncles) allowed their daughters to study beyond middle school. My sisters graduated. My father was of the opinion that no working girl wears jewellery and keep the same in lockers. Even lockets, bangle, Earings and rings worn by them are stolen injuring ears, neck hands, fingers. Fashion goes on changing and ladies get these updated from gold smiths who cheat them during conversion. About this he used to say," Kangan kee choodi,choodi ka chhalla,chhalley ka Alla hi Alla." 

What you 'want' isn't always what you 'need'. Learn the difference between want and need and lead a happy life.

-Tejinder Kamboj