I went to grab lunch with a co-worker today to a place I usually go to, they have huge umbrellas for shade but this after afternoon they removed it. I asked them why? They said replied by saying, "A senior VIP is passing by" I'm stunned. I've seen people remove the shade on their tiny food carts just because some senior VIP was passing through that road. People standing in the hot sun suffering, just for their so-called aesthetics? I mean, there's literal garbage at the end of the road - is that aesthetic enough? The inequality in India is so insane that, at this moment, someone is out there eating foie gras while someone else is adjusting with just water and sleeping.

Every time I pass through a low-income neighborhood, I can't help but think why are they like this? If they went to school, studied well, they wouldn't be in this situation. Right? No matter what their background is, if there's a strong will, there's always a way to achieve something. And even if we keep studies aside, there are so many jobs like domestic work or helping work where they could have earned decently and supported their families. But no. Instead, I see men from lower-middle-class families gambling instead of working. Where did it all go wrong? If there's one thing they seem good at, it's chewing pan masala and tobacco and painting the roads with those disgusting stains. Yuck. And the saddest part? Their kids literally walk on these stains barefoot and sometimes crawl around naked.

And then there's the middle-class people in mumbai, who seem to be competing for some kind of record in spitting on roads. Everywhere you turn, there's another bright red stain on the pavement. It's gross, but it's also frustrating to watch because this is what they're normalizing. What kind of example are they setting for the next generation? It's just a cycle that keeps repeating, and no one seems to care enough to change it.

Tbh, I don't have anything against rich families. But unless and until there are people who stand up to stop this monopoly and capitalism, nothing will change. Either you die being in the top 0.1%, or you stay stuck at the bottom. And in all this, it's always the middle class that suffers. The middle class has to abide by the rules, pay taxes, and follow everything by the book, while the rich can get away with literally anything.

I came across an interview where someone said, "Women in rich families don't work, and men in poor families don't work." That hit me. Why this drastic flip? In middle-class families, men allow women to work outside and support the household, but why does this dynamic change when it comes to lower middle-class families? Why is it that the men in these households refuse to work, leaving the entire burden on the women? It's such a strange, frustrating cycle, and I can't stop wondering why things are the way they are.