This is such an interesting conversation from something so relevant. When we look back over the years, Indians have had a habit of glorifying poverty, and labour, which is very evident through the Bollywood films of 70-80s. This mindset inherently criminalises comfort, and rest. We can also think about this by connecting the conversation to India’s economic history through the years, during and post colonisation. I think our mindset of glorifying labour is one of the key factors why Indian corporate culture does not respect work-life balance and Western companies prefer Indian employees.
That last line was beautiful and saddening. Thank you for this article!
Living in a city where we need the AC only for around 6-8 weeks in a year, we've chosen to avoid an AC - though we have a cooler.
But the choice is in itself a luxury - with the added luxury of a reasonably reliable power supply, so I can lie on the floor under the fan at noon. (Which is, of course, the ultimate luxury - being able to just choose to stay indoors/at home for the hottest part of the day!)
This piece also reminded me that my earliest memory of an AC-room is an odd one. My grandfather died at home and his funeral was the next day. So, for the night, the body was placed in a glass casket with flowers in a room with the AC turned on.
I can still close my eyes and feel the faintly rose-scented cold air that wafted over us as we went in and out of the room! It did two things: made me less uncomfortable around death, and also taught me that the AC is a luxury for the living AND the dead!
Me and my brother are regular listeners of your podcast. We always had fight over ac usage. He always used all the arguments you quoted in your podcast against ac usage. Maza agya is bar ke podcast me is baat par 🤣
It being seen as a sign of debauchery and decadence is very true, given how everyone seems to love nothing more than a story of struggle nowadays, even if most of it is imagined. In that kind of worldview, with suffering and struggle being prized social currency, AC really is treated as some kind of exceptional technology, that even when people end up using it's for maybe an hour at maximum. Very strange how this is the one technology whose use is policed by the whole country.
Lmao this is so true and interesting and i’ve had a similar conversation around this in my family and i limited it to may be brown family or at least an older generation problem but it is not. it’s truly national and so wide spread and a low key slur or looked down upon.
This is such an interesting conversation from something so relevant. When we look back over the years, Indians have had a habit of glorifying poverty, and labour, which is very evident through the Bollywood films of 70-80s. This mindset inherently criminalises comfort, and rest. We can also think about this by connecting the conversation to India’s economic history through the years, during and post colonisation. I think our mindset of glorifying labour is one of the key factors why Indian corporate culture does not respect work-life balance and Western companies prefer Indian employees.
That last line was beautiful and saddening. Thank you for this article!
Living in a city where we need the AC only for around 6-8 weeks in a year, we've chosen to avoid an AC - though we have a cooler.
But the choice is in itself a luxury - with the added luxury of a reasonably reliable power supply, so I can lie on the floor under the fan at noon. (Which is, of course, the ultimate luxury - being able to just choose to stay indoors/at home for the hottest part of the day!)
This piece also reminded me that my earliest memory of an AC-room is an odd one. My grandfather died at home and his funeral was the next day. So, for the night, the body was placed in a glass casket with flowers in a room with the AC turned on.
I can still close my eyes and feel the faintly rose-scented cold air that wafted over us as we went in and out of the room! It did two things: made me less uncomfortable around death, and also taught me that the AC is a luxury for the living AND the dead!
Love the many parallels here 😄 And all very valid points 👍
If I may say a simple thing: What a cool piece! I smiled throughout.
Me and my brother are regular listeners of your podcast. We always had fight over ac usage. He always used all the arguments you quoted in your podcast against ac usage. Maza agya is bar ke podcast me is baat par 🤣
It being seen as a sign of debauchery and decadence is very true, given how everyone seems to love nothing more than a story of struggle nowadays, even if most of it is imagined. In that kind of worldview, with suffering and struggle being prized social currency, AC really is treated as some kind of exceptional technology, that even when people end up using it's for maybe an hour at maximum. Very strange how this is the one technology whose use is policed by the whole country.
Lmao this is so true and interesting and i’ve had a similar conversation around this in my family and i limited it to may be brown family or at least an older generation problem but it is not. it’s truly national and so wide spread and a low key slur or looked down upon.