Was thinking for a few days , what could be my debut topic for a blogger.
After a lot of deliberation ranging from childhood to my early days in the hills of himalayas to my growing up in a small lane of South Kolkata ( which was although not a posh by lane by any means but very peaceful by and large ) to my uneventful school & college life and subsequent more insipid start to my career to my future flirtations with life which included a failed attempt at what law makers say legal cohabitation and a brief stint with a foreign bank overseas to a dark phase of life where I fought badly and madly to keep myself alive from a terminal disease ( glad that i did for thats why I am alive to tell my story ) to my present phase of coming to terms with life, career and everything thats NORMAL ( photography being a somewhat passion which may turn to a part profession later, am keeping this out from the discussion ) - I finally chose my topic as the one that describes me best - MIDDLE CLASS !!!
My large white SEDAN not withstanding ( a momentary spurt of madness - jawani ke josh main hosh khone wala types) no bit of me is or will be ever - even remotely - UPPER MIDDLE or UPPER CLASS !! Not that I am too overtly bothered about the class system existing in India nor do I take shelter in the comfort of have-nots that the word Middle Class offers but the fact remains and will remain that I will always be a middle class man irrespective of what ever I achieve in life from now on !!
Funny as it may seem - the word middle class varies from people to people and with changing socio-economic structure this also has under gone a sea change . eg. - in the 80's a man having those obtuse Ambassador was considered so called " rich " while now in 2017 a man having a City will be termed average for the rich its a flirtation between a 3 series BMW and a C Class Merc.
Now then , enough of boredom for all you there . What actually is middle class ? Several definitions come into mind but the most acceptable one is now the one by historian THC Stevenson which identifies them as falling between the upper class and working class . Included as belonging to the middle class are professionals , managers and senior civil servants . The chief defining characteristic of membership in the middle class is possession of significant human capital.
Coming to the context of India and speaking more in a macro manner if we look at Bengal and Kolkata , the definition of Middle Class has had a major makeover . The word MAJOR being undermined to a big extent.
When we grew up blissfully in the 80's and I stress the word blissfully carefully, because there were no over dose of social media and its ill effects those days - to be precise there were no intrusion of social media at all , the word middle class was a closed set confined primarily to " hand to mouth " salaried individuals who bled to death to justify means to meet ends . Do not think for a second that the Vth,VIth and VIIth pay commissions were in vogue - the salaries were abysmally low even to speak in public forums . It gives me a terrible feeling now to think my DAD who was a top bureaucrat and a gazetted officer ( Rank 1) to boot , started his career right after his academy in 1965 at a Paltry Rs 400/- . Yes u got that all right - Rs 400/-. Although the time value of money has changed a lot now, a lot, still to think that an IPS/IAS officer's salary started from Rs 400 gives you cold shivers eitherways.
How proud I am that my father could impart me such fine education and et al and could take care of my mom and me with such small income - that he sacrificed so many things in life to make me and mom smile like many other doting middle class husband and dad is a separate story altogether !! I am extremely extremely proud of the upbringing and values they imparted me in my nascent years which still holds me in good stead in this era of huge consumerism , drugs , sex and changing times which has affected the word middle class so badly !!!
I may sound parochial and obviously bound by time and period , if I sound so heavily lopsided with our middle class (1980-1995) vis a vis the post Monmohan Era consumerist middle class ( 1995 -2005 and onwards and so forth ) and I am not one who will heavily take sides with middle class of our times when we grew up for this generation the middle class do offer some outstanding traits as well ..
Let's then get down to dissect the most comfortably uncomfortable topic of all times - the changing middle class in wake of a huge socio economic change that we observe now ..
Once again I am in a reiterative mood about the age old cliche - " everything pertaining to our times is good , everything now is bad." I am a strong advocate of the fact that all generations have their own plus and minus , but at the same time the disparity is so striking that I cannot but help bring about this here .
What's the single most important thing that has changed for the middle class when we grew up and now ? - Without an iota of doubt MONEY . The 5 letter word is truly the most important differentiator if there had been any .
Why money is the first topic I chose - one might ask ? Simply because with money changes everything . To start off with lifestyle, values and then the big thing morality ( a real lethal one this which I will deal separately later ).
To start off with, both our parents and us individually , we were never exposed to the amount of money which the middle class is experiencing now . Come what may - Manmohan Singh's liberalisation which opened the flood gates or be it the time value or be it FDI what ever - we grew up in simplicity if not hardship lets put it that way ... Each generation has its plus hence no point calling grapes sour - but there is an inevitability in accepting the fact that the money multiplier for middle class has been a game changer . Also a statement of fact that India hasnt upscaled that many millionaires from 80's till date , as much as the so called middle class looks much more healthy in number and value - so much so for our politicians in maintaining a healthy GDP .
Where as a household in the 80's and even beginning of 90's boasted of a 4 wheeler , a fridge and a moderate B/W or a color TV set at most - the advent of late 90's slowly and steadfastly saw these getting replaced by sleek sedans , huge frigidaires and LCD and LED TV's to name a few ..
The pertinent question that arose here - where did the ever evolving middle class get so much free disposable money ? As I had mentioned here earlier , the 5th/6th/7th Pay commission not withstanding middle class witnessed a huge upsurge !!! How do we attribute this - better lifestyle , better savings or more opportunities ?
MY ANSWER TO THIS ( and I may be wrong) - Its a combination of a number of factors - job opportunities post Monmohan Era , gradual increase in salary of govt officials with the pay commissions which came as a huge relief finally after decades ... One thing worth noting is that during our parents' time, govt jobs were poorly paid and people hardly chose the private option .
In the 90's this was one of the major deciding factors - post liberalisation PRIVATE jobs were much more easier to get than the previous eras ... In the era between 60's to 80's there were 3 sets of students - the brilliant who went overseas primarily USA , the next lot which were equally good but stayed in the country and took Govt Exams to become IAS/IPS/IRS etc , and the last ones which were neither brilliant not good who took the recourse to Private jobs ... The last lot was a handful in 70's and 80's - and although they easily out scored the first two in money still the country romanticized with no 1 and mainly no 2.
The scenario changed completely post 1992 - The govt salaries went up courtesy the pay commission , the window to privatisation opened significantly - and the net result was the sudden change in living status of the so called MIDDLE CLASS .
Once again inspite of feeling deprived as because we belonged to the archaic middle class and not the new urbane middle class , I am happy to observe the changes in life style and money that the new middle class has at its disposal now . The middle class between 60-80 which almost suffered inexplicably with poor salary and a hand to mouth scenario , suddenly found themselves with posh flats, expensive sedans, good flaunting bank balance , lovely life style and too many civic amenities like the Microwave , Air Frier , Big dousy Fridge , Lavish AC , huge LED's, home theatres etc.
SO FAR SO GOOD - EVEN BRILLIANT I may be tempted to say -- all looks hunky dory . And here is where the pitfall is - is everything fine or are we trying to hide the obvious for we all know sudden and too much money or change in lifestyle cannot only bring happiness - there cannot be only light - or there is some darkness beneath it ?
With Baba Maa - 1997 OOty trip
It is here that I throw my weight as an individual - not because i belong to the 80's middle class and not the 2017 middle class - I am MIDDLE CLASS all the way through as I had stated at the beginning..
The change in life and subsequent lifestyle of the middle class has definitely decayed the values rather the degrowth of values amongst the middle class prevalent now .. And I am going to take a stance here - not because I grew up in a orthodox family of the 80's but because I strongly feel that there are certain things which are non negotiable like respect and certain values .
Now let me hit the jackpot with a little more clarity - And I am not going to mince words at all - I have no issues with the middle class affording many things they can now ,in a lop sided comparison to the 70's , 80's and 90's ..
Money , Comfort , Luxury cannot buy or overrule certain sets of laid down rules which were, are and will be non - negotiable ..
In our times - girlfriend was a rarity not a taboo but sex before marriage was like the last effigy driven in , only the upper middle class and above could indulge in sex as if it was their birth right. Now standing in 2017 , if you dont have a girl friend you are booed even in your most hapless of the domiciled middle class set ups !!!
The big difference has come in the middle class maturity in treating a subject called SEX ... whether you like to discuss it behind the curtains or in the open - one cant deny that the middle class has seen a sea change in their mentality in this much alike the money they love to spend now !!
Just a perspective once again and no one is right or wrong here - in our times sex before marriage was not only taboo - a deadly sin which only filled the tiffin hours of school and college canteen gossips .. The scenario has shockingly changed to multiple partners, more kinky forms etc before marriage ( This is harsh reality but if you do not want to believe , please do so at your own peril) .
Our society has become so free, careless and non conformist to traditions - relationships without strings attached is the norm of the day and surprisingly its affected the middle class more ( The UPPER CLASS always seemed to have sex under their wraps whether before or after the nuptial knot ... always) .
Surprisingly here , I have no standpoint not that I want to sound less controversial , its just that SEX has become too individualistic a thing in this ever changing middle class scenario that one cannot say whats right and whats wrong !!!
As I have said some where earlier - certain rules are non negotiable and I will take a stance here . e.g. - smoking or drinking with dad or mom or elders in family in a middle class family has now become a norm .. I am not playing the devils advocate here but I personally feel certain things should be left to the individual themselves . Certain middle class parents' take great pride in stating that their kids drink and smoke with them - am not too ok with the same ( my only personal take in the entire subject ).
Also the subject of respecting elders is diminishing now a days and this is without any doubt - the new look middle class certainly has more money to spend , but debatable is whether LOVE & BONDING that we received from our poor middle class parents in the 80's is still existing - daresay this . Today's middle class parents are too too busy in making money and maintaning their social status !!! The neo Middle Class of the 2000 in order to make their lives comfortable have lost out on basic grounds of bringing up their children for sure ..
Dad in Darjeeling shortly after marriage - 1971
Mom - 1971
Overall , there has been some good changes in middle class lives for sure - salaries of people in government jobs have gone up from Rs 400/- to entry level Rs 40000/- although time value and depreciation cannot and will not be ruled out .... Still its a great welcome change for households which were struggling to meet ends are now able to save some money - more and more families are now able to make 1 or more foreign trips a year - a luxury which was unthinkable when we grew up .. My first foreign trip was as late as 2007 way into 7th year of my career ...
But the good changes have been over shadowed to an extent by some reckless lifestyle of the new middle class --- where drinking , rash driving , easy drugs , cheap sex, bringing girl friends/boy friends home in presence of parents to cohabit , so far and so forth !!! The kids of this genre will fight for sure saying this is the new MIDDLE CLASS and this is all ok stuff , but is everything really ok ??? The loss of respect for elders ??
I have a feeling some where in the jungle of comfort , luxury and money , sex and rash life the middle class some where is losing its identity - the best one it held for such a long time - a certain set of principles and dogmas that they followed so succesfully - but then who says that what I say is correct??
Has the middle class really changed ? What do you feel?
Me - 2017
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