One might consider materialism a pre-requisite of today’s modernism but going by the lifestyle enjoyed by a few neo-professionals in the city, one is sure to alter this notion. By giving away their possessions and the entire sense of material belongingness, the urge to enjoy life redefining its basic elements has caught the frenzy of both the needy as well as the affluent.
Be it their choice of home furnishing, music, art, fashion or preferred form of architecture, minimalism in some form or the other has crept into the lives of many city dwellers.
For designer Gaurav Gupta, global influence is making things simpler in India. “India has always been a hot bed of maximalism. Be it jewellery, architecture or fashion, Indians usually want a lot of elements collated together so that they can feel its splendor. I am glad that people have started appreciating simplicity,” he opines.
Explaining the term and its growing popularity, musician Rudy Wallang says, “A minimalist is like a scientist, who is in a quest to find the basic essentials for a meaningful life. He asks questions and at a time when society attaches status with the number of things one owns, he sticks to the basic. It’s like Gandhiji’s saying, ‘simple living and high thinking’.” Many feel that commitment to nature’s basic essentials can keep distractions like over-consumption and debt at bay. “Why do I need to shell out a fortune to buy a SUV when my small car can suffice the need? One should learn to limit his needs and gluttony, which is the basic criterion to be happy,” opines Mary Khuvung, an employee of Amnesty International India and an environmentalist.
Justifying minimalism as a smart choice in today’s times Manisha Jain of Vivid Interiors says, “Going by the crunch of space and high prices of apartments, many families are going for minimalist interiors. The Japanese first made the concept popular, and today it’s a big hit in India.”