Die Rich – An essay on the Middle class Indian Psyche!!

Some 30 years ago..

I had landed at Hyderabad airport after a late-night flight from Delhi.

And I was on my way to my hotel in a local taxi.

And I got along talking to the old driver wearing a taqiyah (muslim cap) and his beard dyed brick red with henna.

Along the way he turned philosophical and started reciting some Sufi couplets in Urdu.

And then he asked me a profound question, “Janaab, do you know what is the universal jhooth?’. Jhooth = Lie.

And he answered, It is life itself!!

It is the belief that you will wake up alive tomorrow! Everyone who goes to sleep tonight believes that he will be alive tomorrow. Is that not a big lie??

That is an interesting perspective, I agreed.

And Janaab, what is the ultimate truth??

And I knew the answer now.

It is Death!!

Han Janaab, we all will experience the truth when we die and meet with Allah! He pronounced.

And as I recounted this conversation, I thought of writing about death.

And what better than dying rich? After accumulating so much wealth and fortune we hardly get enough time (and energy and good health) to enjoy them fully as we speed towards our expiry date.

And sadly, the Lord does not provide us any baggage allowance on our final flight..

and then i wrote this piece ..

If you are a middle class Indian, chances are high that you will die a rich/wealthy man/woman.

And if you are rich already , then its no brainer. And if you are sane and sensible  as well, then you will die much richer & more wealthy!!

If you are posted in plum government job, or if you are a self proclaimed Bhagavan,  then you will die as a colossally rich person (barring exceptions).

And if by chance you become a successful politician, then again, barring a few exceptions, you are bound to die obscenely & colossally rich!!

And in varying amounts you will have a number of fixed deposits, residential falts, houses, plots of land, shares, some commercial establishments as well. And a couple of lockers scattered over a few major banks. And a lot of gold in various forms and shapes . And you would also have sensibly invested a substantial amount in your children’s education.

You may even have secret enclosures in your house(s), false bottoms/hidden receptacles under your flooring/roof, hollows in your tiled bathroom walls and many many other spaces that would really challenge a master treasure hunter without that elusive and secret map on a parchment paper.

And some of you would leave behind a Swiss bank account &  locker where you would have stashed huge currency and valuables. And whose secret password you probably will not share with anyone except with St. Peters at the pearly gates,  in exchange for a platinum club membership in the heavens above.

Yes, we Indians save money like crazy. We squirrel away money right from the day we start putting small coins into our small clay  gullaks (piggy Banks) when we are children, to recurring deposits when we start earning and then graduate to SIPs (systematic investment plans) and other investments, chit funds, money multiplier schemes, long term growth funds, pension funds  and reinvestment and more.

And we save more and more and we start hoarding and hoarding, be it cash or property or pure gold!!!

Now I focus on the middle class Indian. The lower middle class, the middle middle and the upper middle class folks. The wage earners, working in Govt offices, public and private companies and PSUs the professionals and the first generation entrepreneurs.

And those poor folks who got rich the conventional and hard way. I sincerely pity them, and most times really wonder how naive & stupid they can be.. especially my generation folks who have not seen much money in their childhood and have always been brought up under strict austerity measures.

Be Frugal.  Waste Not, Want Not was our dictum drilled into our heads.

We have worked endless hours sacrificing our health and our families. And we have been thrifty, consuming less and saving more to see our savings grow painfully slowly.  And each year consistently we add an incremental amount to this growing kitty and feel happy at our results.

Now, while the world situation and modern attitudes have changed , our mind set has not changed much.

I would not buy that premium top of the line model car displayed in the showroom, but settle for the next lower model. A few fancy lamps and wood paneled interiors is not worth the additional amount , I will rationalize.

I would prefer taking a Volvo bus or an auto rather than a taxi.

And I  diligently keep track of all my monthly expenses and tally them each year to check if my total expenses is well within my FD and mutual fund returns. And not only that, I also recalculate and ponder if  this earnings amount , which is gradually getting lesser each year, will be be sufficient in the future. To cover the yearly inflation and rise in the cost of living 5 years from now.

And I start tightening my belt from now itself to prepare for this uncertain future . Sad!

Really Sad.

And yes, I feel sad for folks like me and my earlier generations. We are constantly afraid of the future. Of the fact that one day we might run out of money. We never feel financially secure, no matter how much we have in our savings. And we tighten our purse strings (and belt) every time  a big scam happens, a huge company goes bust and when RBI reduces the repo rate by 50 basis points. And also when the Sobha Palladian MC announces the revised maintenance charges that they propose o collect monthly. And so on.

But I guess most of this misery and apprehension is self inflicted! Chances are that none of us will ever die of hunger, not for want of anything essential.  But that’s no consolation.

 And we will continue to live a frugal life not daring to erode even a rupee of our invested capital. And the many financial advisers have also learned to play this game well. – advising  such folks into investing in capital protection investment plan  or plans where you continue to invest for 5 or 10 years and then you get a meager pension each month while they still hold on to your bloated capital.

So that you can die happily (I am not sure)  but definitely very rich!!

And sadder still are those elderly couple who live in old mansions (that could be worth tens of Crores) struggling each day for basic comforts. Their children having migrated abroad and have  almost abandoned them in their old age.  A phone call once in two weeks in not a great solace. And while they continue to live bereft of any  good care, joy or happiness, they will die being a Karodpati!! 

Hasn't it ever occurred to them that they can sell off their house and check into any of the best retirement homes? 

Like some of my own relatives. Still hanging on to their huge house  and substantial bank deposits, but living in one part of their dilapidated house. While their estranged children wait patiently for them to die (very rich of course) so they can divide up the inheritance !

We Indians, except for a few folks ( including a sizable ones in Punjab) have not  yet learned to live life King size.

For example,

How many rich Indians own a 40 foot Schooner or a powered sail boat.  

Or how many take a sabbatical and travel year long across the world?

And forget all that .

How many retired rich folks really plan  to spend all their savings before they meet their maker.

Very few.

And I am still in the look out for a financial wizard who can show me a plan that ensures that we ( my wife and me)  completely deplete all our entire savings and splurge all the amount before we call it a day!

And wouldn't it be fun to die being absolutely broke?

And be able to quote Alexander’s last words, “When you bury my body….keep my hands outside so that world knows that a person who won the whole world had nothing in his hands while dying..” 

And add my two bits to it ..

 ‘And absolutely nothing to leave behind either’!!

Krish..