By Upasna Handa
The stark materialism that has emerged due to this, does not go hand in hand with warm human relations.
Every relationship and friendship is developed with a personal motive. It is not rare that two people meet for the first time, and make a step by step financial assessment of each other. In the first glance itself the brand of clothes, handbag, wristwatch, mobile etc. is taken into account. Then if considered status worthy, other matters of interest would obviously be place of residence, work, and children’s school.
To my mind it is crystal clear that these are not just attempts to a casual conversation. Each query aims at gauging your net worth. You yourself will see a remarkable difference in your new found companion’s reaction if you name, say a public school like ‘Vasant Valley’ as your child’s education centre versus a government school – ‘Kendriya Vidyalaya’. The interest in you as a prospective friend will be far greater if you name the former. Conversation will eventually sway to other items of high monetary value – latest models of cars, mobiles or property. Even if you end up talking on health issues, the name of the doctor or hospital you visit is sufficient to indicate your paying capacity.
