So I am on day 11 now. For those of you who are
reading this blog for the first time, the background to this challenge is here and here is where you can contribute.
Over the past 11 days I have had interesting
perspectives from some close friends. Some curious, some skeptical, some
interesting queries and debates. Now as I said, I decided to do this at very
short notice, so it wasn't clear to me what it would be included or excluded in
my Rs. 100 per day budget. Two young techies did something similar in 2011.
So in hindsight I should have added another Rs. 20-30 for inflation. But I
didn’t, so Rs. 100 it is.
As per me and Big Boss its going well so far (NK
don’t smirk). Food consumption, entertainment, eating out, electricity, hot
water consumption, drinking water consumption etc. are all within control.
However I had also said I would make some exceptions for practical reasons.
Travel in the city being one of them. Mostly if I have to travel far, I make
sure that it is not alone. Technically I should use public transport and given
the cost of public transport also in Mumbai, I can't spend more than Rs. 10-15
on travel beyond 3-4 km. I didn’t strictly follow the odd-even rule of walking
to office on alternate days but have started doing so from today.
Now getting back to my friends, I group them
into 3 categories - Flexible, Questioning and Orthodox. Lets call them DA, AK,
and NK.
DA wanted to know about what I would do if I was
invited to a social function and I knew that per plate cost there exceeded my
budget, what would I do. This one was simple. I would attend the function but
not eat there, and inform the host about my cause and give him/her the link to
my site. Now if it was a work situation and I needed to be with some people out
for a meal. This one is trickier, because no one else is allowed to pay for me,
and if I pay I exceed the budget. I haven't faced this situation so far and so
I don’t know what I would do, truth be told. And he was ok with my
explanations. But then he is a friend who doesn't judge me and I know him for
like 35 years.
AK, not so accepting and mildly judgemental too.
AK also knows me too well, and knew my weak areas. And questioned me on all of
them. Eating less or drinking less is not hard for you says AK. If you are
taking up a challenge, then you should be doing something that pushes your
boundaries. I explained to AK, how this was not just about eating less or
drinking less water or skipping a few baths ( only 2 so far :-) ), but that I
am also sleeping down on the floor and using a blanket that costs less than Rs.
100, walking to office, using less water, and other spending is completely
zero. AK says that is doing “Tamasha”. And I say that Tamasha for a good cause
is good. Tamasha is not used in a derogatory sense here but more in the context
of doing Tamasha to draw attention to something with a rationale. And I have to
clarify this because my next friend, NK, is going to be reading and looking at
this with a judgmental lens. (And I loved the movie btw. Ranbir, DP and Imitiaz
did a fab job. This Indian Express review is one of the best I
have read so far of the movie). But I digress. So I said to AK that doing
Tamasha is not usually my style, and if I am doing Tamasha and putting myself
out there even to 10 people, that is a lot for me as I am a very closed,
introverted and private person. And so even this blogging and sharing and
talking about myself and asking people to contribute is pushing my boundaries.
The old me would have simply written a cheque and moved on. AK got a bit
"odd" then "even" about it and still is. On alternate days AK,
is "ok" and next day "not ok" - somewhere in the middle.
Doing this is also pushing my boundaries and challenging for me. DA knows that.
So do AK and NK.
NK is the most orthodox of them all. NK expected
me to suddenly transform myself into something else the next day and almost be
living in rags, sleeping out, travelling by public transport everywhere (not
even hitch a ride with my family). In other words - be on the streets and sing
- "Chhat hai woh aasman, dharti hai baap-ma" - The sky is my roof and
the earth is my parent who will take care of me - literally. And I have got a
lot of FRIENDLY grief and ribbing from this friend. NK thinks I should be going
through a lot more hardship than what I am already going through. And more
about the travel. NK has no other area of criticism. There isn’t. And perhaps
NK is partly right because travel is a pain in Mumbai. So that would be a
challenge. And this is one area of improvement for me as I have already said
above. So walking to office it is. And NK’s intent is good so no issues there.
And I am sure NK will contribute money to the cause and continue to give me
grief and I will continue to silently listen. Anything for the cause. NK - this
ends on the 21st. Until then I control :-)
Now the old me would have got worked up and said
what right do these three (imaginary and fictional) friends have to judge me. I
am doing something for a good cause. Little big of transgression is allowed.
But the new improved and upgraded me - who practices mindfulness courtesy Jon
Kabat-Zinn - decided to take a pause. I didn't react. I decided to
introspect, do some research and then respond. Next time it will be more
specific. But its good to have all three honest view because they all teach me
one thing - truth is reflection of facts through your own lens. The same me is
viewed differently by three people. So beyond a point do your own thing. And be
true to yourself.
Now all this also got me thinking about how to
set rules for such a challenge - What exactly does "Living on Rs. 100 per
day" mean and what all should it include. It should be practical as well
be a challenge. I went to Amazon and looked for some kindle books and
downloaded a few samples. I can't buy books remember. So some kind of template
on such challenges is what I will post next time.
Until then here is the link: I am 42% there and
10 more days to do am sure will get to 100% with all your support.
With a Nudge
Anish
PS: Thank you DA, AK and NK for giving me
material for this post.
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