What is development? Growth, Better, City? Country?
Think of places you think are underdeveloped and are developed in the world and why- some of the criteria for individuals were:
Developed – Population, Nature and Easy living, Technology, Literacy, Cool stuff, Big Buildings, Best in everything, Costumes, Developed cars and roads, Bollywood, WI-Fi all around, smart disposal of waste, No crime, Metro, Software companies, Transportation, Occupation,
Underdeveloped – Rules not followed, Poverty, War, Literacy, Education, Small, More population, crime, disrespectful behavior among citizens.Think, what is necessary and important for a happy and healthy life? House, Family, Some money, food, Clean air, Clothes, Clean Water, Supportive family, Friends, Resources like stationery, Safe environment, Hospital,
Do all the developed cities of India have all the above like Clean air food and clean water? Have you ever thought about it? Do developed countries of the world have happy people? We all have different ways of looking at anything, but most of the world has only one way of looking at the development – why? Isn’t the definition of development subjective? Have we decided to have only one definition? Good roads, ATM, or Metro an indication of the developed country? Are happiness, success, and development measurable?
Can success be measured?
Can happiness be measured?
Can the height be measured?
When happiness and success are not the same for all, then why is development measured in one way for all?
Few facts- After world war 2, consumerism began to rise. To feed that war a lot of factories came up like frozen food, weapons, plastic, packaged food, tissue paper, sachet, chemicals – do you know what happened to those establishments? What if we say that “only who knows chess well is the only intelligent people, rest all are stupid”? And what do we all start following this benchmark statement? Something you buy today which your parents or grandparents did not buy – types of clothes, junk food, cosmetics, packaged drinking water and food, toothbrush, chocolate to celebrate…how over the time money has become the center of things, we have shifted to consumerism? What is the general definition of success – car, house, clothes, money, jewelry, buying power and gadgets.
The economy is measured in terms of GDP
If I am healthy and happy, I am not helping in increasing the GDP
If I am sick and going to the doctor, I am helping in increasing the GDP
Does this say anything?
Is the media manipulating? Are the manufacturers pushing consumerism?
What are all these images of success and happiness doing to us?
When we are consuming are we are thinking – where does that ice cream come from? Where does the spoon come from? And where does this go?
Imagine aarohi that is not a restaurant, rather a kitchen: Raw material to cook for themselves, to create own learning, to explore, experiment for own reasons, to satisfy own hunger.
Few videos made us think or re-think about the development