Of changing times, values and priorities

overpopulation.

Today, when the burgeoning population is a big issue, hardly any persuasive slogan is to be seen or heard.

Conserving petrol was another idea in vogue those days. We were taught the importance of saving fuel by guests of repute at school functions when we used no appliance or gadget that ran on petrol. We were warned that oil reserves would last only 30 years if we didn’t realise the gravity of the situation.

We had no clue on how we could help save the ‘black gold’. “Ride a bicycle and save oil, and your health,” my father said when I consulted him on the burning topic of the day. “But we’re already pedalling our way to school. What else can we do?” I wanted to know. Ironically, today when we can do a lot to save fuel, many of us do precious little.

Being a spendthrift was not considered a good trait in those days. Small saving schemes offered incentives and prizes for agents and investors alike. But now successive governments are continuously slashing the rate of interest on instruments of small savings. The finance minister keeps emphasising on the need to increase the buying capacity of the consumer to raise the gross domestic product (GDP).

Another concern was power. The Punjab State Electricity Board used to appeal to consumers to save power at the onset of summer by issuing an advisory in newspapers. We were urged to save power when we had no airconditioners, no refrigerators, no desert coolers and no washing machines. Now I hear our state has become power surplus and the power corporation is considering incentives to big industries who consume substantial amount of power.

The set of values has changed with the advent of new ideas. Goals and objectives that were the mainstay of our upbringing are redundant today. The era of hard work and slogging is over and the age of logging in and smart work is in. Let us savour the change.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES THAT WERE THE MAINSTAY OF OUR UPBRINGING ARE REDUNDANT TODAY