CELEBRATING FESTIVALS: BUY OR NOT TO BUY
New Year started the day before yesterday. I have now recovered from the
excesses of the celebrations of Christmas and New Year. A long ten-hour sleep
last night was all that I needed.
A good part of the last 15 days
was spent in the shopping malls finding gifts and bargains. I actually did not
buy much, only what I deemed essential.
Now that I am back to my normal self, I thought it would be a good time
to bring back the contents of my cerebral rumen and chew on them. Two words in
particular needed more softening, much
& essential. How much is much and
what is essential? Really, there was not a single thing in my shopping that
could be even remotely classified as essential to my existence. Forget about
existence, not essential even for my comfort. Moreover, what is another additional
Eue de Perfum or aftershave, if not much? But at the time when I bought these, they
did not seem so frivolous. I actually felt happy and clever spending the money on
the bargains!
Truly speaking shopping malls, supermarkets and shops are the only places
now, which feel full of happiness, joy, light and warmth during festival
seasons. These places are keeping the festivities alive.
But Capitalism has to extract its profit. With the help of sleek
advertising and media placements, the businesses have made the celebrations of
Christmas and New Year synonymous with overt consumption. We have turned consumption into a necessity, and sometimes
that is how we specify ourselves. It is same with other festivals like Deepawali,
Easter, Eid etc.
The shops do their best to entice you in and not always with honourable
means. There are big bargain banners outside and inside the shops declaring 50
to 70% discounts. They are only partial truths if not outright lies. Deceit is
at their heart: very big bold letters for “70% off” and tiny microscopic
letters for “up to” or “selected lines”.
But hey, they do blast free Christmas songs and make white bearded, red-coated
Santas appear two weeks early!
Happy New Year, keep consuming!
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