The word ‘millennial’ is a term used to refer to the cohort of people who were born between 1981 and 2004. These ‘millennials’ are the babies of the economic boom. They have been a witness to the seminal shift in economic and social order that marked the arrival of the new millennium. The millennials of India have been eyewitness to the paradigm shift— from socialistic India to the ‘New Order’ of the economy. I am one of them. The GDP was a smiling figure then. Per capita income of people, purchasing power, all went up.
And I often reflect upon those days when our parents would carry a cloth bag while stepping out. The great invention called ‘plastic covers’ was yet to arrive. The cloth bags were simply improvised out of some left over pieces of cloth.
Those were the days when errands were on foot or cycle. I remember how I ran down to the street-end shop for those quick-fixes or for last minute requirements for the kitchen. Bikes, scooters and cars (then a luxury) were reserved for long distances. Today, a household with reasonable income has two-three bikes, and middle to higher income households have two cars, sometimes of different types, like a Sedan and an SUV to suit the needs of different occasions. Air pollution? Who cares?
Those were the days of minimalism. Need based. Today, we choose shoes to match our mood, our tie with the colour of our eyes. Never mind the polyurethane in landfills, rivers, and the ozone.
And how can we forget smartphones and their not-so-smart ancestors, desktops and laptops. The average retirement age of these smart cookies is one year. Never mind the e-debris adorning all our road sides, footpaths, landfills and lakes. Digital world after all!
Clearly, all is not well! While the new economic system has brought a lot of cheer to the world, a thing or two needs to be introspected. Can we stop for a second when we want to buy, and think, “Do I need it, or am I buying simply because I can?” Can we stop for a second before throwing something away, and think, “Has it fulfilled optimum utility?” Before disposing of a thing, can we stop and ask, “Is this a responsible way of disposing?” Maybe, it is time for reviving some of the ‘consumption values’ of socialistic India. It’s no wonder that June 2019 was the driest month in about a 100 years.
Rohini D
Email: rohini.divakar@gmail.com