CIRCLE OF LIFE BETWEEN MASS AND CLASS

IN my five decades of life, I have seen my lifestyle oscillating between mass and class.

- ANURADHA GOYAL

What used to be common in my childhood became downmarket, as new flashy things from the West became aspirational. But by the time my youth was making an exit, the same old things of my childhood were becoming elite and fashionable.Let me take a few mundane examples. Our grocery shopping used to be in cloth bags or thailas. We carried them to the store and reused them till they were no longer usable. Then came the era of fancy plastic bags with store names or product brands printed. They promised convenience and announced that you have brought that brand. Our kitchen doors had one plastic bag full of a bunch of such bags. The best ones went below the mattress to keep them well-creased.