Back to Basics - II

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"I have money. It's people I can trust that I need". It's not the first time you've come across such a line, is it? Yes, as the title suggests, this is an (attempted) sequel to one of my previous posts.

Of late, most of the people I know are saying it over and over again. Money and property or borrowing a phrase from philosophy, "materialistic pleasures" are now giving way to belief, friendship etc., I guess it all started with the IT boom in our country, which showed how even the lower strata of our society could afford the then luxuries. It could be something as trivial as coffee culture, going up to shopping the latest in fashion and watching football at sports bars with "mates". Everyone wanted to eat junk at McDonald's and get drunk at some bar just to get high. Soon, this lifestyle was the norm. Engineering colleges mushroomed everywhere in the country and every student wanted the corporate lifestyle; work hard on weekdays and unwind on weekends. This went on for quite a while, dare I say a generation or two.

For instance, in my high school and early college days, hanging out in a mall was cool and even though you couldn't afford as much as a drink over there, you wanted to be there; it was the "happening" place. Just a few years down the line and this is the last thing I want to do when bored. We want to go home, find peace somewhere, throw away our gaming consoles and play in the open for real!

Why don't we realise that there is nothing special about this lucrative lifestyle at the earliest? Why do we think that money is the only solution to everything, invest and then realize that it's not? Why do we have to go back to basics all the time? Why can't we just stick to them?

I hope you get the picture of what I am trying to express here. If you've had any such instances, let me know. Am pretty sure you would've gone through the mall routine and now go on hikes or drives to really enjoy life.

Comments

Puneeth said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
July 5, 2010 at 9:41 PM
Puneeth said…
Maga, even though this is quite a weird example, I would like to quote it.

A few weeks ago, I read in Bangalore Mirror that the popularity of FarmVille was decreasing. The reason quoted was that it had become monotonous.

If a small game like FarmVille which we play for just 20 minutes decreases in popularity cause it's monotonous, why not the 'entertainment' that we need.

As far as going back to basics/having gotten away from basics is concerned, it's all done for entertainment. Today, you might feel malls are boring and looking at your gaming console makes you puke on it; but think about the time when you were always playing outside in the hot sun and a Rs.15 per hour gaming arena would give you the different 'entertainment' you loved. :) (Frankly, I loved those times)

I feel that the Basics that you have referred to keep changing with time. It is only relative. If you were in mountain regions and hiking and driving in ghats were all that you had to do, coming back to basics would have been catching a movie with popcorn and a drink or playing your favorite game with your friends, online. :)
July 5, 2010 at 9:44 PM
Tejus Subbanna said…
Very true maga, basics are relative and generic. It's what I felt and went through that I tried to explain here :)
July 6, 2010 at 11:27 AM
Rashmi Nadig said…
You gotta experience everything.. Phases of life..!:) What u find exciting today, mit not be d same few yrs down the line..
July 6, 2010 at 7:44 PM
Puneeth said…
Yup... Absolutely :)
July 6, 2010 at 7:51 PM
Tejus Subbanna said…
True, we've got to experience everything, but we always go back to what we like best. What I mean to say prevention is better than cure, so why choose wrong things in the first place!
July 9, 2010 at 5:06 PM
Puneeth said…
Maga, we've not chosen wrong things le. I feel that if we choose 'right things' in the first place, there will be no charm in life.

Its like this maga. If we keep sticking to the basics, then basics will be redefined and we will go back to the new basics.

We can never stick to basics and not be a part of the non-basic life. If we are enjoying non-basic life and it becomes boring at some point in time, then we come back to basics to feel the change.

So if you keep going on hikes, one day you will feel that it is boring too. Then will be the time to come back to 'new' basics viz. movies, music, games etc. The vice-versa case is what you have mentioned.
July 9, 2010 at 10:41 PM
Tejus Subbanna said…
Okay, I would like to make a few things clear. As I have told you once already, basics are relative. Which means, examples quoted here are something I experienced myself and so wrote about them. God, people are so picky!
July 10, 2010 at 12:59 AM
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