I recently came across this blog from Amit, a very dear friend of mine, talking about Plastic Love in the Age of Capitalism. And I can not agree enough to this! The idea put very simply is a commentary on the present system of development — not only of our surroundings but also of our relationships. The capitalistic model of development. Capitalism born in the West sees the world in dualities — ‘I’ vs ‘them’, and in expendables — knowingly unconcerned about many things. The sense of the world being expendable is captured by the mass production systems and assembly lines of the economy. Mass production robs one of its authenticity. Authenticity, the currency of selling, is now replaced by abundance. It is true not only of the mundane everyday items available in glut but of the relationships made mundane by their excess supply.
I feel as strongly for the poor old chairs of Sagwan, which Monobloc Plastic Chairs have cruelly replaced, as I feel for the old irreplaceability of relationships which is lost to abundance offered by likes of Shadi.com and Tinder. Today, love is as replaceable as a plastic chair. You are free to break it, and you’ll get another one on the ‘marketplace’. It demands no maintenance, and it is ‘light’ with no burden of its own; at most, it may cost you some money, but you’ll ‘save’ a lot of time on such hassle-free ‘purchases’. Another upside is that plastic love and plastic chairs come in a lot of variety. You can get any ‘colour’ or ‘height’ you want — so you do not have to make any adjustments. Adjustments you say? Nah! Adding to it is the obscenity of available ‘choices’. An obscene showcase of class and caste makes me want to throw up — a separate section for those with a certain degree, with a particular profession and with a certain caste. You are no one if you do not belong to these categories. Once a Monobloc is brought, its colour begins to fade. The only utility it serves is how comfortable it really is — obviously much less than an authentic handmade chair. When ultimately comfort and compatibility is what matters in the long run, then why should it matter that a partner has a specific qualification, earns certain much or has this-much height or is fair or not. Apparently, there is no way of knowing whether a Chair would be as comfortable or not in the long run, so other factors come into play as a proxy — to ‘judge’ it as quickly as possible. This is the core problem of plastic chairs and plastic love — that they are simply not organic, they don’t know what to do once the charm of qualifications and looks fade away.
You may not even need to go out searching for the right fit, it is available right in front of you! The marketplace models have commoditised the relationships. Earlier, people had to make efforts to woo their love interests, prioritise the meetings and spend hours while waiting! Now, it is raining hook-ups! No strings attached is the value offered, and the value is being grabbed at by both hands too! One may say, what is wrong in asking for more? I say — nothing, but is anyone even asking for more? Asking for more ‘single use dates‘ or asking for more ‘out of a single date‘ is the question. The idea of a marketplace where people overstate themselves like swollen bustards making a mating call sounds so demeaning to me. You are what but a plastic chair waiting to be purchased, and there are a lot of them like you. The loss of individuality is at the core of assembly-line capitalism. ‘Be Found’ the tagline of Jeevansathi.com, would read ‘Be Lost’ if seen for real by red filter glasses of Mr India.
Make efforts for your love. Do not expect to find it on an app. Wait for hours, run late — in hope of catching them at Metro, be unsure, discover, do everything, just don’t be lazy. From Couch potatoes to Couch lovers, technology is really ‘solving’ our problems. The colour of plastic chairs will fade away, while the charm of Sagwan — or Teak, Bamboo or Oak for that matter — will increase with time. Leave that plastic chair of yours and go search for the authentic ones in the wild for love breeds in the wilderness!