I know the title is a little cliched but it is as much true as it is cliched. With the opening of Economy in the early 90's to the IT Boom that happened to my generation lots of things changed for which each one of us are thankful. This actually made us all think big( of course the definition of 'BIG' is different for each).
But with this came the part where we stopped enjoying the small happiness in our lives.I remember that every time my dad got a hike in salary which would normally be not more than Rs.100/- per month we would go out and celebrate either at a hotel or a movie theater or if dad was in good mood -both. How many of us remember the Pens and Pencils we used in our school. I certainly remember the number of 'Hero' fountain pens I had and the care I used to take with each of them. Then the whole 'Reynolds' rage came in and all of us cherished that one pen we would have brought at some point.
After finishing school, do you remember the sports shoes you owned? I am sure the numbers can be counted on the fingers of one of your hand. I certainly do remember the one I had - It was from a company called 'Tuffs'(If you dont remember this company then I will remind you - Remember Madhu Sapre and Milind Soman in with a Python?) and I took care of it for many years .
The above are just examples, the list could include - Cadbury's Daiy Milk chocolate, Vidya Notebook and Laminated brown paper on it, Natraj V/s Camel Geometry Box, Hawai Chappal(White base with Blue band) so on and so forth.
Now fast forward to the current scenario, the only salary I have celebrated receiving was my first after that I got into the 'Race' . The only rule in this 'Race' is to try and find another guy who does similar job but got a better hike and then say 'Hell, my company is stingy'.
The Stationary that the office provides is literally used like tissue paper - 'If You lose one, go and grab another from the stationary cupboard'.
And yes, I own more than one 'Branded' sports shoes to add to the formals and casuals that sit on my shoe rack, but they are just an accessory for me now.
The point is, with the millions we made - we somewhere stopped enjoying smaller things in life. So the Nike/Adidas became a tool in reducing the stress/fat that we seem to ever take on ourselves in trying to be in a company which pays us the highest salary hike/bonus which is when we plan to 'Celebrate' .
But with this came the part where we stopped enjoying the small happiness in our lives.I remember that every time my dad got a hike in salary which would normally be not more than Rs.100/- per month we would go out and celebrate either at a hotel or a movie theater or if dad was in good mood -both. How many of us remember the Pens and Pencils we used in our school. I certainly remember the number of 'Hero' fountain pens I had and the care I used to take with each of them. Then the whole 'Reynolds' rage came in and all of us cherished that one pen we would have brought at some point.
The above are just examples, the list could include - Cadbury's Daiy Milk chocolate, Vidya Notebook and Laminated brown paper on it, Natraj V/s Camel Geometry Box, Hawai Chappal(White base with Blue band) so on and so forth.
Now fast forward to the current scenario, the only salary I have celebrated receiving was my first after that I got into the 'Race' . The only rule in this 'Race' is to try and find another guy who does similar job but got a better hike and then say 'Hell, my company is stingy'.
The Stationary that the office provides is literally used like tissue paper - 'If You lose one, go and grab another from the stationary cupboard'.
And yes, I own more than one 'Branded' sports shoes to add to the formals and casuals that sit on my shoe rack, but they are just an accessory for me now.
The point is, with the millions we made - we somewhere stopped enjoying smaller things in life. So the Nike/Adidas became a tool in reducing the stress/fat that we seem to ever take on ourselves in trying to be in a company which pays us the highest salary hike/bonus which is when we plan to 'Celebrate' .
