I have always thought, “I am middle class.” And growing up, I probably was.
Middle class meant the kind of family which was not in abject poverty, but you could not have anything you wanted.
You went out for dinner on an extra-special day like your parents’ anniversary - to an INDIAN COFFEE HOUSE or some other normal restaurant. A movie in the theater was a once a year treat only, as was ‘choco-bar’ and'frooti' in the interval. ‘New clothes' were added to your wardrobe only during a cousin's marriage or a birthday or christmas celebration.
Today, we eat out just because we’re in the mall and ‘feel like it’, even though dinner is waiting at home. I can watch 3 films back to back if I want to and end up spending more on popcorn than the ticket price. I can buy as many new clothes as I wish, whether ‘on sale’ or ‘fresh stock’.
So am I not ‘middle class’ anymore?
My uncles were not middle class, they were ‘business class’. They had a lot more money than my dad, who was working in the sales department of a private firm. Yet, I never thought of them as rich.
Our 4 member family lived in a rented 1 bedroom flat. which meant me and my brother ended up sleeping on the living room floor. They had a bit of money tucked away somewhere, I don’t know where. But they hardly cared about spending it.
Business class was different from middle class.
My parents drilled it into our brains early: “You have to study hard and make something of yourself.” In the housing complex I grew up in, marks and ranks were discussed among aunties. Every year some lucky soul would be exported to usa or singapore for higher studies.
Meanwhile my elder cousins joined BCom and joined their family business – often side by side. They married early, to girls with BA, and started a family within a year. They earned a lot of money and now their children are being taught to study well, Move to a big city and take up a job.
Excellent- Now Business class wants to be ‘middle class’.
I had a friend in college who I thought of as ‘rich’. He had a car, went swimming and holidayed abroad. Today, I can have all those things – and more.
If I am not ‘middle class’ – then who am I?
Because if thrift and hard work no longer defines me, that’s what I will pass on to my kids. Can I get him or her another new t-shirt even though they dont not need it? . Should I tell them to study hard when I know that marks don’t really matter. Is an international school necessary, or was a regular school good enough?
Where do I set the boundaries, when in my heart I want them to have everything my money can buy?
And yet, I will want my kids to ‘make something of themselves’ – not stand on my shoulders. To be defined by who he or she is and not by the car they drive. I want them to have lots of money and use it wisely. But also, to value all the things that money can never buy.
I am a ‘mix n match’ – a grand collage of values and ways of life.
I am the New Middle Class. or maybe not . I dont know. vodka does things to your brain:)
