Loans

A few years back loans were a strict no-no. Not the big ones, I even looked down upon borrowing money from friends. The concept of loans, as I saw it, was tainted. It might not be the way money lenders were projected in media. It has perhaps got everything to do with the way in which I was bought up. It was a part of individual principle etc.

When rest of my friends decided to have a good time to go on debit with local dhabawalas back in college, I wouldn’t have any of it. When my colleagues were having fun with their new found love (read credit cards) in the initial days with Infy, I abstained – yeah even CC was a strict no-no! When no one saw any harm in borrowing a rupee or two for tea, I was counting every penny I spent. Some people were okay with this, some detested me for this quality.

But then things started getting different, I don’t know if its the change in lifestyle or the style in which we wish to lead life; loans may sound illogical, given the EMI rates, but requisite nowadays. It may perhaps have something to do with the growing greed or urgency in some cases to get some piece of land before another grabs it; it may be the current lifestyle that is driving anyone and everyone to look for that getaway vacation.

These are perhaps some occasions where you suffer the greatest setback – your Salary (no matter how many digits it may comprise of) takes you nowhere close to your dreams! Guess human beings are never a satisfied lot, but this quality is more prominent when reality bites! Loans, as seen at this point onward, become essential for survival.

It was same with my case. My ‘demands’ take a step back in comparison to these occasional and inevitable ‘luxuries’. I should probably go get a lesson as to how these things were handled a generation back, but guess things don’t work that way. Be it my usage of CC (though I do pay off on a weekly basis) or my stoic nature when handling home loans, I seem to have lost a bit of me somewhere and just lead an existence of robotic proportions!

This could easily go as a rant, if it was just the ‘I’ involved. Unfortunately it isn’t any more. Things are assuming different proportions here and with everyone watching. Hope the following quote makes some sense to the many men like me:

What you “need” the most is always a step away from the right path;
What you “deserve” is just a stone’s throw away!