Life In Privilege
Being a teenager with access to an international school, a 4 bedroom house, and the best of amenities and resources, One could label me the very definition of privilege, and with these individuals, I would wholeheartedly agree. Yet there is a particular misconception about us fairly entitled kids. The most common being the fact that we have never encountered gender discrimination.
For ages altogether, the media has portrayed us to be unbeknownst beings whose only worries are what color their new BMW should be? , where their new farmhouse should be located? , traditional Shaadi in a 5 star or destination wedding in Udaipur? followed by every other nonsensical bullshit question you can think of.
This may be news to some, but every day in our lives our bubbles of birthright are burst, and we too are forced to witness and acknowledge the shit that goes on in the disparate society that we live in. Let’s start with our boundless access to the internet, which never fails to remind us that we are currently residing in a world that drowns a 12-year-old Somalian refugee in the name of bullying, a world where the very people who vowed to protect you take your life because of the melanin in your skin. A world where Kashmiri pandits are shot at and ruthlessly murdered.
The news we come across everyday impacts us much more than you think, speaking for myself at least. Thoughts race around my head as a feeling of helplessness takes over me each time I hear of cases of teen rapes, mob lynchings, honor killings, bullying, racism, religious terrorism, and whatnot. WE ARE AWARE AND WE DO CARE.
But it doesn’t stop here, classism is another issue that is highly prevalent in the upper-middle-class societies in India. And why? you may ask, to answer that in simple words because these rich and influential families have been brought up like this. Generations and generations of these families have been taught that they are and always will be superior to those that are weaker in power, wealth, and status than them. That their prodigious egos, snide remarks, and unfair treatment of those allocated under them in the pyramid of social classes are more than justified, they are necessary.
At this point, you might start thinking that I am just another triggered child talking about issues that are way beyond my level of understanding and intellect. So let me give you a slight introduction to the malicious environment I live in.
Classism In Privileged Life
My everyday schedule was pretty much the same back when school was still on, wake up at 7:15, get dressed, eat, and leave my house at around 7:45. This day was much like the others, except all of a sudden it was not. I got inside the lift on my floor and casually waited to go down, and at this point, the lift stops on the 8th floor. A young girl about 19 odd years (not much older than me mind you) walks in and flashes a big, friendly smile at me “Namaste didi, Kaise hai aap (Hello sister, how are you)” she says.
I answer her with a suitable reply of my own as we both go about waiting for our stops. But the world has other plans, the lift halts again at the 5th floor and opens to a middle-aged woman probably in her late thirties, dressed impeccably in the finest of brands, carrying the latest iPhone and a copy of Indian Vogue in her hand.
She doesn’t walk in but neither does her finger leave the call button, instead she has the look of sheer disgust on her face as she scrutinizes the poor girl up and down. Before she can offer her a friendly greeting (Madam X lets call her) cuts her short and lets out an ear-piercing moan of outrage.
She points her manicured finger at the house-help and rudely tells her to step out, followed by series of highly offensive self-talk stating stuff like “ Kaha se aajate hai ye (where do they come from)”, “Kitni baar mana kiya hai humari lift mat gandi karo (how many times have we told you not to use our lift) “, “Goddamnit how unhygienic can this society get, it’s intolerable”. The innocent girl looks as dumbfounded as me unaware of what monstrosity she had committed to be the prey of Madam X’s wrath.
She lowers her eyes and mumbles a sorry as she walks out of the lift, I look up at Madam X and remind her that what she just did was not only illegal but highly offensive on many levels. To which she said sternly, “You are a child, do not interfere- zyaada social service karne ki zaroorat nahi hai (there is no need to do too much social service)”.I saw Shanti didi standing outside the lift with fear in her eyes shaking her head at me, and that moment is when I lost faith in the community that I lived in.
I stepped out of the lift unable to stand the presence of the bigot anymore and apologized to Shanti di myself as we walked down the flight of stairs. And while I gained a permanent place in Shanti di’s heart with our daily trips down the stairs, I failed to bring about validated change in the prejudiced and sectarian world, And for that, I will forever be disheartened.
PS. (Fun fact I also now am subject to dirty looks from Madam X and her group of foolish orthodox women every now and then, which give me utmost satisfaction. And if triggered again I will always stand in support of every Shanti Didi I meet ever.)