LESS IS MORE!

My City Bhubaneswar, a small-midsize city in progressive India; must have grown at least 20-30 times in last 10 years, in terms of size due to expansion and intruding population from rural areas. What has caused this: hunger? May be; but definitely not for food, but for success, money, and everything else comes with it, in excess!

Trend of the modern world is to forsake paddy fields for a city lifestyle that entails less movement, more fattening foods and higher stress in life. Stress is in air! Look back to the time, when it was different. All of us are lucky enough; to compare this to a time, when it was relaxed, slow paced and bit more balanced. Unfortunately our next generation won't have the privilege to compare. All; they would experience and know is a time - which was, is & will - be stressful.

As the stress gets a grip on our life, more ways we discovered to combat stress - wonder why Alcohol & Cigarette manufacturing companies are so cash rich these days! I remember when I was a kid, school going must be - there use to be only one shop in the whole city, which used to sell alcohol. And brave people who used to go inside that shop, used to act as if they are trying to a crime or something. They used to look around, put their face down and slide inside the shop like a thief, wishing no one saw them. But look at the city now - we have alcohol shops all over the city, like a milk shop, or news agency – and everyone has a free access to these shops, including underage kids, like it is their birth right. Not talking about India in particular but it has changed in every country and continent in last 15 years mostly.

The conventional way to see the growth is to inspect the want — the want for food, the want for money, want for life, want for water, want for medicine, want for a shelter. I don't know exactly, may be half of the world's total population is living below the poverty line. The millions of children are with too little to eat. But there is another way to see it: through its newfound excesses and expanding middle and upper classes. In a changing time, it seems to go this way: make good money and get cars, get houses, get more families, get meals out, get excess of everything!

What I am trying to say? What can I say except – LETS CUT THE EXCESS & ENJOY QUALITY LIFE, MAY BE?

Mr. Morris is my good friend and owner of the dry-cleaning shop, where I take my dirty cloths every week. I particularly enjoy this 10 minutes chat with him, every time I go to his shop on worldly subjects. He said recently: his father taught him many good things, one of which was “LESS IS MORE”. How you mean I asked. He explained – when you have less, you value things properly or appropriately. How so, I asked again. He explained again – imagine a bathroom you built with all the best quality fittings. Compare it will another bathroom, which has mostly ordinary fittings but few of them are of really good quality. Which bathroom will make you appreciate the quality of good fittings, more? I get that. Do you?

Nothing serious! Just a thought! Think about it…when more relaxed.

Goodnight and wish you all a fun filled day tomorrow! — in Bhubaneswar, Orissa, India.