6 Conspicuous consumption

Three examples of conspicuous consumption are dealt in this chapter- Marriages, funerals, dwellings and luxury vehicles.

Cards Camera Costumes and Catering

We have often come across the expression “Marriages are made in heaven”. Today while attending marriage ceremonies I get the feeling that I am standing right in the middle of a cinema set or studio. More than marriages, the ceremonies’ focus has now become on four ‘C’s- Cards, cameras, costumes and catering. By a simple observation of the four ‘C’s we can understand the milieu of the present society.

Different types of wedding cards are available in the market which varies in shape, size, texture and design. In earlier times while selecting a wedding card people checked the weight of the card to ensure that the postage charges won’t cross the threshold of what one can afford. However, today people check how colourful, heavy and fancy the wedding invitation is, blatantly disregarding the fact that the ultimate destination of the card is the trash can.

Cameras and corollary gadgets have come to occupy the central stage of wedding functions today. Lights, cranes and other accompanying equipment virtually block the view of guests at a wedding. Again, similar to the fate of the cards, the over-the-top wedding photo-shoot and videography which record the ceremony event by event will be watched by very few, mostly the immediate family members of the groom and bride. Even worse is the direction. Today marriages are often directed and controlled by cameramen and videographers. These very people decide what the groom, bride and guests should do. The videographers are there to capture the moments of the ceremony without spoiling the decorum of the function not the other way around. There have been instances where these ‘directors’ of the wedding movies were taken by the newly married couple along with them to video graph their honeymoon.

Wedding dresses is another area where people spend a huge amount of money lavishly- all this for just a single day. Often one has witnessed beautiful girls turned into the most miserable-looking creatures by the magic wand of beauticians. At weddings one can see beautiful girls with wall putty all over their face and decorated with gold from head to toe making them look like elephants at Trissur pooram festival. Also, why so many dishes for a simple wedding? Tonnes of food are wasted after each wedding in Kerala. Makes you wonder if people are nowadays invited for wedding or for participating in a food fest. Often more than eating, people taste everything and eat nothing.

Funerals

Funeral services in earlier times in Kerala society were characterised by rituals and prayers among other things. Nowadays, more than rituals, the emphasis seems to be on showing how rich one is. Large sized pictures of the deceased in newspapers, air conditioned, specially designed hearse vehicles to carry the dead, live streaming of the rituals and distribution of posters carrying the pictures of the deceased seem to be the latest trend of funeraldom. Apart from these, newspaper ads appear soon after the funeral thanking everyone for participating in the solemnities and making the same a 'grand success'.

There are several indispensible items that are necessary to conduct a funeral service in an ideal way. First among them is a mobile mortuary. Soon after one is dead the immediate query is regarding the availability of mobile mortuary. With the arrival of mobile mortuary we have successfully commenced ‘cry day’- where an entire day is spent by people sitting near the corpse, watching, and visitors paying homage to the dead. Mobile mortuary has turned out to the best innovation that enables man to mourn for the dead along with the dead. Apart from this, mobile mortuary has become a status symbol for many of us. In future we may witness decorated and designed mobile mortuaries which will be priced differently.

For some folks a grant advertisement would definitely help in the deceased to acquire moksha. The notification announcing the death in newspaper itself has become an indicative of one’s status. For some people giving a large size newspaper advertisement carrying the portrait of the deceased is a prestige issue.

A disciple asked Jesus Christ once “Lord let me go and bury my father first”. But Jesus replied “You follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead”. (Matthew 8:22).People are getting busy as time advances. At the same time the length of funeral services keeps on increasing along with the pomp associated with the same. People are sad when their dear ones are lost especially when they are lost through a tragedy, but the grandiose functions are not something that the deceased might have wanted.

Funerals nowadays serve another purpose of increasing social solidarity. It has become a place where people meet each other after a long time. Crying and mourning are nowadays meant to be only for the immediate relatives of the deceased. For others these functions are no more than a place to meet and talk and for some others it is just a waste of time.

Dwellings, Luxury vehicles

Dwellings in Kerala appears to be an area where people are willing to spent enormous amount of money wastefully. Often I have noticed huge dwellings constructed without anyone staying in it. This is the most manifest form of conspicuous consumption in god’s own country.

Why are residences so big?

While traveling through the countryside of Kerala people come across huge dwellings with luxury cars parked in front of it. Besides these cars and houses, public roads,  buildings, government offices and public spaces are in the most pitiful state of affairs. In Kerala we only have individual prosperity. Individual prosperity has led to increased consumption and increased standard of living and consequently to conspicuous consumption. We are the only state in India where poverty is inconspicuous. In fact we are not poor but the very transitional nature of our society is making us myopic. In a house where there are only a few to live what’s the point in having so many rooms? The reason is that we construct houses to show others that we have money and often forget the fact that dwellings are for shelter.  With the sudden rush of money people consume more, often in an extravagant manner and we often invest in wrong places. More than considering houses as a place to live and giving prominence to interior designing, many are interested in making homes with beautiful frontage and view conveniently forgetting the fact that it is ultimately for the wellness of its residents.

Luxury vehicles

Having a posh vehicle is something every Keralite dreams of. To be frank, considering the quality of our roads, it has become a requisite if you want to travel comfortably on the roads of Kerala. Owning a vehicle without using the same has become a norm in  Kerala. Often while walking through the beautiful countryside I have seen cars in front of houses lying idle. More than its utilitarian value people are looking at cars as a status symbol.

With increased disposable income, people have started investing in all the wrong things and value money more than anything else. Economic considerations will begin to override all other factors and consumerism will begin to pave the way to hedonism…