Simple Equation

 

Authored By Vaibhav Srivastav

 Before reading the article, I would request you to watch this video made by Mr. Nitin Das. It presents a simple comparison of what different people would do if they were given five hundred rupees to spend as they wish. A couple of years ago I saw a brilliant advertisement in a newspaper which espoused the cause of education in India. It presented a simple equation, which I have tried to recreate with this picture below.In today’s world, with life in the metropolitan cities being what it is,

spending around Rs 400 to 500 on a single evening of eating out doesn’t seem to be a big deal. In fact, if the expense is limited to less than 500, one would consider it to be money saved.

With the invasion of the ‘Mall’ culture, which in itself is not so recent, it has been present for the past six or seven years or so, there’s been an increase in the standard of living. However, a high standard of life comes at a High Cost of Living. The cheapest cinema tickets do not cost less than Rs 100, a decent size Pizza for two at any of the big fast food chains in our country comes at a price exceeding Rs 300. Add that up and you would get the monthly tuition fees of a good private school. The same can be said for bars and pubs, or for the various coffee chains which sell their products at high prices. One peg of alcohol on an average costs Rs 135, double that if it’s a ‘premium’ quality drink, one cup of fancy flavoured coffee costs anything between Rs 50 to Rs 60. It’s simple; the cost of passing leisure time has increased exponentially. And all these services are not mandatory or ‘need’ based, they thrive on the target market of college students and young professionals who do not mind splurging out of their pockets for a place to ‘hang-out.’ All the same, I do not say that going to a mall, having an expensive Pizza, shopping for overpriced branded clothes and shoes or spending in pubs and coffee shops is evil and should be avoided. There’s nothing wrong in doing so, or nothing majorly wrong. I do it too; I too am a consumer to most of what I have mentioned above. All I ask is to take a look at that simple equation above, and spend a minute in thought. My suggestion is this : I do not ask anyone to stop going to malls and other places, I have no right to do so, nor is it a solution. I would just ask you to set aside money equivalent to what you would spend on one Saturday evening, and sponsor a child’s education.
Look at it from the perspective of the whole month, it is not a lot. There are four weekends in a month, setting aside a Rs 500 note from the total spending on all four weekends would amount to just a fraction of the total expense. It would not make much of a difference to your leisure time, but it would make a big difference to a child who would benefit greatly from being able to go to school. The rest is easy. There are various organizations like World Vision, Big Help, Aryasamaj Gandhidham which help in sponsoring a child’s education. A small monthly donation can act like a Butterfly Effect in a child’s life, and perhaps give them a chance that they might not get otherwise. After all, sending a child to school is not just about giving him education, it’s about giving them the childhood that they deserve, it’s about making those years the best years of their life, and providing them with an opportunity to select a future which does not depend on circumstance. John Lennon said, ‘Imagine…it’s easy if you try.