Thursday, April 3rd, 2008
Dear Blue,
I’m finding it really difficult to respond to your post comparing a life of chosen frugality to a life of enforced frugality.
Ever since our first quaint online correspondence with each other more than a year back — do you remember your first e-mail to me? — I have thought of you fondly, as a friend. Even though we didn’t meet up when you were in India, you have been a regular presence in my online life.
So, I’m really embarrassed that I didn’t realize that you had money problems. It’s a tragedy of the tenuous nature of our online ties that it’s easy to believe that we know our friends, when we don’t really know them at all.
It isn’t easy, or nice, to have less money than you need. I have been there myself and I have seen, firsthand, what it does to people and to relationships. It take away much that is of value and teaches you too little, too late. I wish that I don’t ever have to deal with it. I wish that none of my friends have to ever deal with it.
Wednesday, April 2nd, 2008
I was at my friend Kanishka’s place the other day, when I pulled out a Ziploc bag from my bag. Here’s a more or less faithful transcript of the conversation it triggered off –
Kanishka: Why are you carrying around sandwiches in a plastic bag?
Gaurav: Ah! Haven’t I told you that I’m off consumption for a year?
Kanishka: (chuckles) I bet you won’t be able to spend a month without consuming alcohol! But what is the connection between not consuming alcohol and carrying around sandwiches?
Gaurav: (smiles) Actually, I’m off consumption in the sense that I’m not buying anything for a year; well, anything that’s not a necessity anyways. Which means no eating out, no going out for movies or plays, no shopping, and no maidservant. So, whenever I go out, I carry some sandwiches with me, in case I get hungry.
Kanishka: (concerned) But why have you gone off consumption? Why didn’t you tell me you had financial problems?
Gaurav: (laughs) No, no, I’m not broke! It’s a year long experiment to understand why we choose to consume, or not. I’m even writing a book about it. It’s online; you should check it out sometime.