Move On

I’m sharing a lovely article I read by Deepa Gahlot.
There was an odd piece of news tucked into the newspapers-one third of India lives is houses smaller than US prison cells.
This must be true of homes in Mumbai-supposedly the most prosperous city in the country. Most Indians probably eat less than an average American kid,& do without a fraction of their wardrobe too.
Still,whenever there are happiness surveys,Indians come up in top of the list of the happiest people.
I can’t talk for the rest of the country,but as far as Mumbai is concerned, the crowd,the lack of space & general discomfort,seem to have shaped the just-get-on-with-it character of the Mumbai-ite(including me).
People here don’t even expect to live in palatial flats.So when they manage a one BHK in a distant suburb they are happy with it.Even the most tiniest cramped spaces appear spacious to local gusets.
It’s amazing how everyone makes do with less space-every inch is utilized to store things under beds,over cupboards & behind sofas.If an extra person lands up ,everyone’adjusts’.
When they commute to work in sardine-tin trains & buses,they simply squash themselves to’adjust ‘ more people.The only complaint wil come from an outsider,who freaks out at the sight of people hanging out of local trains. But Mumbaikars are quite happy if they reach home on time to watch TV,picking up groceries on the way(same pich).
Those who live in homes smaller the prison cells take pains to decorate them with plastic flowers,bright curtains & lurid posters.A folding chair miraculously appears for a guest along with water & strong cup of tea.
These people will have the flashiest weddings,the noisest festivals & a general air of gaiety all year round, regardless of the weather.
And they are also not fazed by floods,blasts & other disasters because their life teaches them to accept everything thrown at them & with time actually since birth learn not to whine.
Life could not get worse,& so it can only get better.Maybe that’s why Indians-Mumbai-ites in particular-must be the most optimistic people in the world.
Call it resilience, apathy or chalta hai attitude,it’s tested whenever there is a crisis & the roof just never caves in on them, because there is no space even for the debris to fall into.