I arrived in
Mumbai, just a few days back and the culture here seems indicative of a trend
becoming more and more popular, and it is terribly disappointing. I daily see
hoards of people running from day till the night (which is not the
disappointing part) trying to sustain themselves. What is disappointing is the
coldness, the mechanised approach to life. Treating life like an assembly line,
where each component has its own specialised function, and is well connected by
networks. Here most people would argue that networks provide economical
solutions to daily and business problems. However, they fail to see that
networks drain the vitality from communities and families.
This trend
is prominent in every aspect of the culture that we see today.
- Beginning from education, we are pitted against each other and taught to compete and thus we prepare alone which is a very solitary, lonely experience.
- The best indicative of the strength of a culture is its kitchen. For it is in the kitchen that a language is spoken that addresses the eye, the ear, the nose, the tongue and even the skin, all five senses, something that all of us are exposed to since childhood but few of us realize. A traditional Indian kitchen was a sacred place. But today it seems like a factory with all gadgets, clean and quick, just like a chore or an industrial activity.
- Have a problem, consult a specialist, because you are not qualified enough to solve it. This trend arises from the need of the networks that requires surrendering of all judgement except the one that is of interest to the network.
- Nuclear families are on the rise where everyone is with each other only out of necessity and not due any kind of emotional bonding.
- We see a decreasing number of people going to the park/garden for rejuvenation. And if they do, no interaction with each other until and unless instructed by their yoga (art of living, etc) teacher.
- Increased addiction to televisions and laptops that acts as a hallucinogenic drug. The definition of spending quality time with your loved ones means watching a movie together.
As an impact
of these trends we see more and more people going to the psychiatrists, living
a lonely, depressed life. A research states that the ‘happiness levels’ of
people in today’s time is even lesser than the one ‘s during ‘The Great
Depressions’ of the 30s. This is because the fragmentation caused by excessive
networking creates a sense that our lives are out of control-----and they are.
Aristotle
once said that “The only way to become completely human is by participating in
a complex range of human affairs”
