Skip to main content

Quality of Life - What is That?

It's a sad time for humanity. The world over, a wave of tyranny, willfulness and the might of power has taken over the lives of common people. The ordinary person never mattered anyway, but now their insignificance has reached new lows. Whether its in administration, business, health, education, science and technology, medicine, arms control, environment management, or simply quality of life, if you have the moolah, you have everything.

And this is more pronounced in developing countries like India. We are so far away from real progress that it seems like it will take a lifetime to reach a decent quality of life. Yes, despite our space missions and IT supremacy, we are far away from real development.

Quality of Life?

Get a decent education they said. Well, prepare to shell out your life's savings first. Any school worth its name will demand exorbitant fees and security deposits that are guaranteed to give you a mini heart attack. Then comes the actual struggle of your child - keeping up the grades, continuous comparison with peers, taunts and lifetime scars. The mad scramble to somehow get into engineering or medicine or accountancy, coupled with the pressure to appear cool and chilled out among their peer group, sucks our children of all their natural exuberance. Drugs and alcohol make an appearance, and can take over the child's life, just like that.


You go searching for a job, there aren't any. Those that are there are up for sale. Pay the agent, the recruiter, the middleman, the doorman, only to discover that there are thousands of other hopefuls competing for the same job. PhDs applying for the position of clerks, postgraduates for the posts of peons. If you manage to get a job by yourself in a private company, get ready to sacrifice your health and family life. Whether you get your salary on time or not, you will get a huge package of stress, panic attacks, ulcers, and sleepless nights. And if you die chasing your targets, be sure no one will be grateful. It's a dog eat dog world, with vultures circling over your position and salary.

To hell with everything, you say, and log on to social media. Welcome to 24/7 surveillance! Each move, click and comment of yours is tracked, the information filed away for posterity, and sold to whoever is willing to pay the most. Big data, data theft, deep fake, identity theft, deal with these hefty problems while you are relaxing on Facebook or Instagram. You can lose your life's savings clicking on a link or giving an OTP.
And then there are the influencers and the gurus who convince you to buy totally unnecessary courses/products/services just to appear cool. Ohh, and what about the depression that comes free? Everyone's life seems sorted excepted yours! 

Sighing to yourself, you go out for a run. The smog clogs your lungs, and you have a coughing fit. Trees and greenery have given away to the concrete monsters spewing venom. Parks are now miniscule patches of green, where children, joggers, dogs and tramps jostle for space. Somebody is getting married - half the road is blocked off and mikes are blaring way past midnight. Then there are potholes and craters waiting for you to trip on. 

You get sick and need to consult a doctor. The doctor recommends hospitalization. That's it! Now you are in the clutches of the hospital and pharma mafia. A battery of tests are prescribed, catheters and drips fastened, and your bills start shooting. Then you are at the mercy of the hospital staff who treat you like trash. Then specialists come in to flex muscles, and you are handed more bills. Somehow, if you manage to survive an illness and its aftermath, the insurance company is waiting to serve you the final blow.

Can I Make a Difference?

I can continue my pessimistic tirade, but is it going to help anyone?


The answer lies within us. We need to ask questions, demand explanations, expect quality of service. We need to be not okay with being pushed around.

  • Stand up when you see something wrong being done to the voiceless - a beggar being beaten up/ a timid girl being harassed/ a child being teased. Don't join the mob, turn the mob.
  • Protest when you are asked to comply to an unreasonable demand. Maybe nothing will come out of it, but voice your dissent nevertheless
  • Provide service and value, and expect these too - in all areas, whether you are at the mall/at a restaurant/ at airports/ in hospitals
  • Keep the rational mind alive. You won't go to hell if you don't forward sundry messages on social media. Nobody is hatching conspiracies against you or your religion. People are not plotting to belittle you or your community. No need to be offended by everything.
  • Don't pay that bribe. Easier said than done, but try it. Things will get delayed but you will not contribute to the rising corruption in public life. Avoid the tendency to skip the queue.
  • Lead by example. Your kids and family will follow your actions not your advice. So stop saying, "Tu janta hai mera baap kaun hai?" or "Muh tod dunga"! Abusing in public demeans you to a pitiable level.
As many great people have said and shown, Be the Change You want to See. Else, be okay with substandard quality of life. Get used to being cheated on. Remain the second class citizen.

Or stand up. For yourself, for others.

#corruptioninpubliclife #qualityoflife #ordinarycitizensexploited #badgovernance #secondclasscitizen

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Self-Supported Publishing - Boon or Scam?

When I started writing stories, I felt some people would find solace in my words. The purpose wasn't to earn money through selling books, but yes, money would be welcome when it came. The idea was to provide readers with something they could connect with. As it is, the process of writing involves immense churning within, and exhaustive editing and finishing after you have finally written what you want to. Any creator will tell you it is almost like birthing a child. Self-doubt assails you, you get nervous and unsure about your work, you aren't sure the denouement is looking apt, or the characters are relatable.  Then comes the commercial aspect of it all - as a new writer, you have to keep an eye on the reader's liking, avoid esoteric words and concepts, and make your content readable and catchy. Finally, what starts is the toughest part. Yes. Finding a publisher for your work.  Common Publishing Models For the uninitiated, there are basically two types of publishing models...
1 comment
Read more

Enough! No more rape!

The recent horrifying, stomach-churning incident in Kolkata is not a one-time aberration. It keeps occuring in our country. And we women are also responsible for this stinking rot in society. Ask yourself these uncomfortable questions. How many of you protest when a girl wearing "revealing clothes" is cat-called?  Did you show your support for our wrestlers protesting against a habitual offender? Did your blood boil when you saw pictures of our sisters in Manipur paraded naked?  When rapists are released from prison or routinely escape punishment, do you raise your voice? How many of you have tolerated violence or even casual sexism in your own home? Do you turn the other way when transgenders are leered at? Do you grin and bear it when the men in your family crack obscene jokes? Do Kathua and Hathras ring a bell? And lastly, how many of you thronged cinema halls to make misogynistic horrors like Animal and Kabir Singh blockbusters? I have asked myself and am distinctly feeli...
Post a Comment
Read more

Laapataa Ladies - the Unfortunate Story of Lost Women

Laapataa Ladies is a deceptively simple, yet extremely thought-provoking satire couched in a simple story of exchanged brides. Image Source: IMdB This is the unfortunate story of countless ordinary women living under the veil, in the shadow of uncaring men. Who can't remember any details of their husband or the sasural they are married into. Who are trained only to obey their husband, do their duty in the kitchen, and follow orders of in-laws. Who don't have the liberty to study or do something for their own betterment. What can we expect for such women, except a lifetime of slavery? If the husband happens to be good, then there's some ray of hope. If he's a rascal, then God save her. Thanks to Kiran Rao for addressing the woes of 80% of Indian women living in nameless villages. And thanks for calling out the "greatest fraud" - the fraud of getting ready for marriage and domesticity. Where you can make the perfect kalakand, but you can't find your way...
Post a Comment
Read more