Lessons from Uttarkhand -- II / Living with less

If I remember right, I have probably talked about consumerism, et al on this blog, and as is my wont, I am sure I have probably even repeated myself. That I, an "advertising waalah" and "marketing professional" write like this has to be plain sacrilegious, considering that advertising is all said and done the "hustling" of brands and marketing -- the process of demand creation, or rather the "touting" prior to the hustle; but then we all have consciences don't we?

(Then again, we all have to whore for a living as well, come to think of it.)

I at least think I am in a relatively better position to speak about the ills of consumerism (than all those who have been sharing links that talk about "Living with less" on FB) because of my relatively spartan way of living and because though I have worked at various places in various roles, I have never sold my soul to lucre or Mammon.

Then again, my biggest calling has always been that of "getting close to the unpaved earth", and I will gladly be called a primitivist rather than extol the virtues of so called "development".

And you know, even if I am back in IT (in a way), my soul is still mine and I don't get paid an obscene salary either.

Oh, how I digress!

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I am off FB when I write this (you see I can live with less!) and I am sure all the worthies who frothed at the mouth and expressed so much outrage have already forgotten what happened in Uttarkhand. But I do remember some of that outrage. Various people -- various theories.

The first theory is that the blame lies squarely with the pilgrims (the old and infirm) who perished there, because they were foolish enough to venture there. There are echoes of this sick thinking in certain quotes in certain accounts I have read online too. Natural when you consider that most people will blame the old for being old (or the deaf for being deaf, for that matter). In this case, the blame is totally not on the pilgrims (immaterial of their age or degree of firmness, pilgrims are opportunists -- in fact most children are too), it should have been the temple administrations, the priests ( -- I am Brahmin by birth -- who can get worse than the worst tout+hustler+bania) and all the tour operators, who should have learned to live with less long, long back. But then Uttarkhand is no Kashmir, Kedarnath is no Amarnath, naturally a lot of the "tour operators" were old uncles from the South with a smattering of Hindi and a belief in Shiva. If you forget (and forgive) the uncles from the South, wasn't it expected of the others involved in the "tourism promotion activity" to read the portents?    

The second theory is that this happened because of rampant "honeymooning" in the hills. Well, to a certain extent that is where the biggest blame lies. Because it is the youngest lot who are the most consumerist. And I can simply not think of a bigger "market" than this lot -- when it comes to comfortable lodgings, mineral water bottles, "nice" roads and all that jazz. And hey, this isn't about what the "honeymooners" do, its more about what they are willing to pay for -- that's how a "different" and very consumerist economy starts, does it not?

The third theory is, nothing happened. Yes. You read that right. This is the theory that all "pralay" believers ("scientific" people who can DIY everything to do with their Smart Phones, laptops, et al but cannot for a moment think of themselves as a blade of grass, a tree, a bird, a bloodsucker; people who can never understand things from the perspective of a "natural" living) would like to subscribe to. While there are any number of other qualifications to be part of this grand club of blind (and brainless) men and women, the most important (at the media level) are that they be from the Congress (or its long drawn out legacy) or from the other "verticals" in which marketing means selling not only your soul but that of your forefathers as well.

May the same God who received the souls of all who perished in Uttarkhand forgive the idiots and the idiotic theories. After all, that is what the mountain does, always, it doesn't quake.

Om Namaha Shivaya.                 

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