Richie Rich!

I was taken aback! when a girl in a luxury car from quite an affluent background once remarked that she was from a 'middle class' family!

What is this tendency with all of us to believe that we belong to the middle class? I think if you are reading this blog, in my world you are rich! It means you have money enough to buy a laptop, connect to the net and have the time to read this! And if you do that, I probably think you will be in the top 1% of the country in terms of being blessed with enough materialistic comforts!

So why do we complain we are not rich? Why do we crib about not enough opportunities for growth in India?

And here is my explanation... When I started working, all my friends had similar salaries. Now at that time I declared I will consider myself rich when I hit the 6 digit figure per month. And then sometime in my career when I did hit that figure I still thought that there is more scope to earn!

Why ? Because along with me my friends also started making similar money. And I made new friends on the way in the new strata - not necessarily intentionally. So you always benchmarking with the peer group you belong to. And every time you make more money, so is the peer group! And hence you eternally are thinking of making more money!

Now.. dont think that I do not like money! Money can buy a lot of things. It can buy you even life! Its been a shocking revelation to me that life is unequal and biased towards people who have money at their disposal. If something happens to me, I can afford to spend to save my life... and hence my chances of survival in this world increase compared to let us say so many other people who languish to death because they can't afford treatment!

When you realize that you should compare yourself with the average man of this country then you suddenly realized how blessedly rich you are! I proudly, gladly say that I am rich ...
While I am on my way to make a pitch to a customer, I am thinking in 7 digits and when I look out of the car and see the guy selling socks on the road... he is thinking of what he is going to eat the next 7 days! Its a matter of survival for him... is it a matter of just stacking more notes for me? Perhaps what I earn is a merely a symbol by which my success is measured... but for him it takes care of his hunger!

Why am I the lucky one to be in a position to afford good education and why not this guy on the roadside? Why does he have to address me 'sir'? I am sure he is as intelligent as I am, just that he did not have the right opportunities.

We are not the middle class... we are the rich ... the lucky rich ... now I think its time where I search myself and ask what I can do back for the society/nature who has chosen to pamper me at the expense of so many others!

I have been hibernating for years... but last few months have been propelling me into unknown thoughts and something tells me that when time knocks I shall walk a very different path. Till then I get myself equipped so that I shall be prepared to answer that call!