The middle has moved

 There is now a new definition to being middle class

The definition of being middle class in India has changed in my lifetime. When I was growing up, it basically meant any family who could afford to send their children to English medium schools, who could go on holiday twice a year (even if it was just to visit relatives), and who could save a little something over from the combined household salaries every month. Most people who called themselves middle class could not afford a car (though they did take taxis on special occasions) and air travel was a luxury that only the rich could afford.

 

Things have changed now. The average middle-class family these days drives around in its own car, it takes air travel for granted, and when it holidays, it spends time in hotels rather than crash at a relative’s house. It’s not just that the middle class has more money; more importantly, its attitudes to money have changed. Now, nobody thinks twice before booking a restaurant for a meal or ordering takeaway – something that was a rarity when I was growing up.

 

And sure, with the passing of time, my attitudes have changed as well. But only up to a point. There are some things that I learnt during my very middle-class upbringing that persist to this day.

 

Frugality, for instance. I cannot bring myself to throw away a toothpaste tube until I have squeezed the last bit of toothpaste out of it. When there are only dregs left in the shower gel or shampoo bottle, I find myself mixing a little water in so that I can use every little drop. Slivers of soap have to do service until they literally disappear in my hand. Any leftover bread in the fridge is turned into crumbs and frozen to be brought out when needed. And when my cotton nightclothes and T-shirts get worn out, they are torn up and used to dust shelves and the like.

 

Electricity consumption is a particular bugbear of mine – unnecessary consumption, that is. I cannot bear it if someone leaves the lights or fan on in an empty room. So, I find myself morphing into my grandfather who used to run through our childhood home, turning off every unnecessary light (muttering all the while about how money didn’t grow on trees). For me, this has become something of a full-time job because my husband seems incapable of switching any lights off at all (when challenged, he insists he was just returning to the room in question; so why leave it in darkness? Right!)

 

That’s not to say that my spending habits haven’t changed in all these decades. The teenage me would be quite appalled by what I spend to get my hair colour done at the salon, but I consider that money well spent because it is so important for my self-image and my confidence. But even now, every time I make a big purchase, I have to steel myself to do it. And then, I come home and have a lie-down to recover from the shock of how much I have spent. 

 

I guess it’s right what they say. The habits of your childhood die hard. And when you’ve had a middle-class childhood like mine, those habits are hardwired into you for as long as you live.