Minimalism

Minimalism as a way of life is quite challenging in spite of the fact that such a life style is good for earth. As Gandhiji had said that the earth has got enough for everyone’s needs but not even for one man’s greed.

With me hanging the gloves so to speak I am indeed practicing the minimalism. Let me recount some of the challenges I face in my daily life. I usually prefer the public transport when I have to commute along. I need to walk from my apartment to about 150 meters to reach the apartment complex gate and cross over to the bus stop. When I am near the gate invariably, I see some buses passing by. By the time I cross over and ask a commuter he/she would reply that the route bus I was wanting had just went. To add salt to the wound the commuter would say two buses went in the space of five minutes. Then I know I am in for a long wait. The Auto fellow like an eagle observes and look at me askance. If I tell him my destination, he would say 25% more. The over charging by the auto fellows has been institutionalised as price surge by Ola and Uber. When you don’t want to take a ride, you get a message about the discounted ride they would like to offer you.

With COVID having come to stay forever there is a Shakespearean dilemma about buying your provisions, fruits and vegetables. The pavements in the main road, has become a source of livelihood for many. This is like a razor’s edge. It adds to the challenges of navigating your way and should one step out on the road, you may as well your last prayers if you do believe in god. Statistics say that the Bangalore roads are way up when it comes to killing the pedestrian. My woes got added when I read that the municipality has dug up nearly 3000 km of Bangalore roads. The pavements space provides many a woman their livelihoods. They spread their wares of vegetables on a plastic sheet and sell a small heap of vegetables for Rs 10.00. The heart tells one must buy from this poor lot of women. Yet the infection business looms over like the Damocles’ sword.

On the other hand, there are the e-commerce retailers that assure gate delivery at your apartment. All that is required is leisurely browse their app and order for what you need. But there is a hidden cost not so much for oneself but for the society at large. The heap of plastic that you end up collecting because everything comes packaged. It is a small consolation that the retailers claim that they use recyclable plastic. The demand is elastic for plastic, one could say using economic terms in COVID times.

I have also become outdated more or less in my sense of fashion. I am usually in my shorts and tees. When my shorts get worn out my pants get shortened. I have also been tracking the cost of this life style. It cost us, a family of three, not more than Rs 25-30 thousand a month, considering that we live in our own house. It includes food and provisions, medicines, utilities and an occasional ordering of food from outside. Mind you we are not vegetarians although we don’t gobble fish and meat on a regular basis. Of course, it does not include any holiday costs.

In so far as fitness is concerned my daily walks around the apartment (two and a half rounds make up a km) and yoga does not cost a thing.

So, what one found oneself in a lock down. I unlocked my writing skills and have taken to writing. Now I am in the world of words and they have become my best friends. 

My friends call me wordsmith.

 I am a writer on the anvil. 

Words like spark fly when I strike the keys. 

Hope this friendship with words will never cease.