BUSY OR GREEDY?
- Madhukar Dama
- May 27
- 3 min read
The Indian Middle-Class Excuse for Selfishness
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INTRODUCTION: THE MOST CONVENIENT LIE
Everywhere you go, people say:
“I’m busy.”
“Hectic day.”
“No time, yaar.”
It sounds important.
It sounds responsible.
But often — it’s a lie.
The truth is:
They’re not busy.
They’re just greedy.
Not for money alone —
but for comfort, distraction, status, power, attention, and escape.
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LAYER 1: IN INDIA, "BUSY" IS A STATUS SYMBOL
In the Indian middle class, being “busy” means:
You are productive
You are in demand
You are respected
But here’s what’s really happening:
The husband scrolls endlessly but says he’s “too busy” to talk.
The wife attends four weddings but “has no time” to call her mother.
The adult children binge-watch entire shows but ignore their father’s hospital visit.
The neighbour chats for hours about cricket but ignores the widow next door.
People are not out of time.
They are out of willingness.
They simply don’t care enough — and greed is their true priority.
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LAYER 2: GREED WEARS THE MASK OF BUSYNESS
Most Indian middle-class life revolves around:
Promotions
School admissions
Coaching classes
Property dreams
Destination weddings
Social media reels
Diwali shopping
Amazon sales
5-minute reels about “mental health”
There’s no time for:
Calling a lonely cousin
Sitting with a dying grandparent
Listening without multitasking
Responding to a friend in need
Attending a funeral without checking work mails
Why?
Because none of this gives instant reward.
Greed isn’t always obvious.
Sometimes it looks like being “too busy” for what really matters.
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LAYER 3: A TYPICAL SCENE — RECOGNIZE THIS?
> Ravi looks at his phone. Missed call from his uncle.
He thinks: “He’ll talk too long. I’m tired.”
He opens YouTube. Watches a 40-minute cricket breakdown.
Then tells himself: “I’ll call him on the weekend.”
He never does.
This is how people disappear —
Not through hatred.
But through greedy convenience.
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LAYER 4: NOT EVERYONE WHO’S BUSY IS GREEDY
Let’s be clear.
This essay is not about:
The single mother with two jobs
The daily wage worker in Bengaluru traffic
The overworked nurse in a government hospital
The father who runs a shop from 6am to 10pm
They’re busy because they must survive.
But the rest?
Who scroll, shop, gossip, and game for hours —
then say “I have no time” for people, presence, or purpose?
That’s not busyness. That’s pure greed.
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LAYER 5: HOW IT DESTROYS CONNECTION
Because of this fake busyness:
Families grow apart
Children grow up lonely
Friends become names on WhatsApp
Communities lose empathy
Marriages become polite transactions
Parents die waiting for a phone call
And when tragedy strikes —
people say: “I wish I had more time with them.”
No.
You had the time. You gave it to greed.
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LAYER 6: GREED IS ADDICTIVE, AND SOCIAL
Society claps for:
The employee who never takes leave
The woman who manages home, job, fitness, and reels
The man who sleeps 5 hours but “crushes targets”
But nobody claps for:
The friend who listens
The son who sits with his mother
The teenager who spends one quiet evening without the phone
Because greedy busyness gives visible rewards.
While real presence gives only peace.
And peace is invisible — so nobody values it.
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LAYER 7: YOU’RE NOT A BAD PERSON — BUT YOU’RE HIDING
People don’t say “I’m greedy.”
They say “I’m busy.”
It’s more socially acceptable.
But honesty would sound like this:
“I’m watching YouTube. I don’t feel like talking.”
“I want to relax. Your need doesn’t interest me.”
“I can’t give without getting something back.”
It sounds brutal.
But it’s real.
And it forces you to see:
What do you really value — relationships or self-serving cycles?
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EPILOGUE: REPLACE “I’M BUSY” WITH THE TRUTH
Next time you want to say “I’m busy,”
pause.
Ask:
Am I really busy — or just unwilling?
Because you always have time for what you truly value.
And one day, when someone you love is gone,
you’ll realize it wasn’t time you lacked —
it was courage to put down your greed
and pick up the phone.
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