MODERN LIFE IS HARDER
- Madhukar Dama
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
INTRODUCTION: THE WORKLOAD PARADOX
Once upon a time, humans worked hard—but they worked for life.
Today, they work harder—but for survival.
This essay dissects the silent tragedy of modern civilization:
How we were promised leisure but ended up in a race that never ends.
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PART I: THEN VS NOW – THE MYTH OF PROGRESS
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1. FOOD
Then (1920s): Most families grew seasonal food.
Grains were stored, fermented, shared.
Zero pesticide, zero packaging.
Meals were fresh, communal, and satisfying.
Now (2020s): Supermarkets, processed food, 24/7 delivery, nutrition apps.
Food is outsourced, expensive, and causes disease.
Despite abundance, 1 in 3 are malnourished (obesity or deficiency).
Reality: We work to buy food that makes us sick,
then work more to afford the treatment.
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2. SHELTER
Then: Simple huts, mud houses, joint families.
Homes were built once, repaired yearly.
No rent, no mortgage.
Now: Nuclear units, cement jungles, EMIs for 30 years.
Constant anxiety of rent, relocation, renovation.
Fact: 70% of urban income goes toward rent or housing loan in Indian metros.
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3. WORK
Then: Farming, crafts, trade.
Seasonal rest. No emails. No alarms.
Now: Gig economy, 9-to-9 jobs, side hustles.
No off button. Commutes, screens, burnout.
Stat: The average Indian in urban areas now spends 8–10 hours daily on screen-related work (NASSCOM, 2022).
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4. COMMUNITY & JOY
Then: Every festival, every death, every harvest was shared.
No loneliness.
Now: Calendar invites, paid retreats, therapy for isolation.
Note: Suicide rates have tripled since the 1950s (WHO).
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5. HEALTH
Then: Diseases existed, but lifestyle diseases didn’t.
Walking, sunlight, real food, fasting were natural.
Now: 75% of Indians have at least one chronic illness by age 45.
Medical bills are the #1 cause of bankruptcy.
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6. LEARNING & CHILDHOOD
Then: Life was the teacher.
Values, skills, stories from elders.
Real work, real play.
Now: Tuition, tests, screens.
Stress, myopia, anxiety at age 7.
Report: 34% of Indian children need vision correction before age 14 (AIOS).
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7. EXPENSES & TIME
Then: Water, air, earth were free.
People knew how to fix, grow, build.
Now: Every need = a bill. Every bill = more work.
Truth: The more you earn, the more you pay—until you can’t afford to stop earning.
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PART II: WHY THE SYSTEM DEMANDS MORE NOW
Industrialization shifted needs to markets.
Education replaced skills with degrees.
Convenience killed community.
Consumption replaced contentment.
We need to earn for things we once got by being human.
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PART III: WHO UNDERSTANDS THIS?
Only those who:
Question the idea of career = success.
Live with less, by choice.
Feel the pain behind progress.
Observe nature, not trends.
These are the rare, holistically intelligent minds—
The voluntarily simple, the barefoot thinkers, the kitchen gardeners, the natural builders.
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PART IV: THE SOLUTION – RETURN WITHOUT REWINDING
Grow your food.
Build small.
Repair things.
Share with neighbors.
Unlearn luxury.
Celebrate boredom.
Protect silence.
Reduce wants.
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EXAMPLES:
Sudarshan & Leela, Bengaluru techies turned organic farmers in Tumkur.
Rafiq, ex-salesman now runs a barter-based repair service in Dharwad.
Pushpa Aunty, widow who cooks for her lane using woodfire—feeds ten, eats last.
They’re not “backward.”
They’re free.
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PART V: WHAT YOU LOSE VS WHAT YOU GAIN
Aspect: Time
Modern Life: Traded for money
Voluntary Simplicity: Owned fully
Aspect: Health
Modern Life: Bought, often lost
Voluntary Simplicity: Grown naturally
Aspect: Joy
Modern Life: Sought through screens
Voluntary Simplicity: Found in slowness
Aspect: Knowledge
Modern Life: From experts
Voluntary Simplicity: From experience
Aspect: Freedom
Modern Life: After retirement
Voluntary Simplicity: Daily, in decisions
—
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CONCLUSION: UNLEARNING THE RACE
We were not born to compete, upgrade, and collapse.
We were meant to observe, feel, build, dance, grow, and rest.
A hundred years ago, life was tough. But it was also human.
Today, life is “easier”—but it’s killing us.
Only the brave choose to step out.
Not to go backward.
But to go real.
—
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HEALING DIALOGUE: “WHY ARE WE EXHAUSTED IF EVERYTHING IS EASIER NOW?”
Setting:
A hot afternoon in Chincholi. A group of four visitors sits cross-legged on the red earth floor of Madhukar's mud home, shaded by neem and tamarind trees. There's no fan, no AC. Just the wind. Just truth.
Characters:
Madhukar – 72, barefoot hermit, wise, brutally honest, yet full of love
Raghav – 39, IT project manager from Bengaluru
Shruti – 35, marketing executive, always online
Nitin – 43, banker, recently diagnosed with hypertension and diabetes
Anita – 41, English teacher, exhausted, anxious, medicated
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Raghav:
We had to come. We’re all exhausted. Even weekends aren’t enough anymore.
Everyone says life is easier now than 100 years ago. Then why does it feel like we’re being strangled by our own success?
Madhukar (smiles):
Because ease is not peace.
You’ve made everything fast, not light.
Comfortable, not meaningful.
Automated, not connected.
Shruti:
But we have machines for everything! Washing, cooking, cleaning, booking, buying—still there’s no time!
Madhukar:
Time is not given. It’s owned.
You rent it to corporations.
And they pay you just enough to keep begging for it back.
Nitin:
We earn more than our fathers. Live in apartments they couldn’t dream of.
But I feel... trapped. Even if I wanted to stop, I can’t.
Madhukar:
That’s the new slavery.
Shiny chains. Monthly EMIs.
A fridge full of food you didn’t grow.
A bed that rejects sleep.
A house you don’t have time to clean.
Anita (eyes moist):
Sometimes I wish I was born in the village, a century ago.
They had fewer things, but… did they have more life?
Madhukar:
They had less distraction.
Less illusion.
Less inflation of identity.
More sky. More dirt. More silence.
Even boredom was a gift—it made them sing.
Raghav:
But can we go back? We’ve tasted this life. This rush. This technology.
Madhukar:
No need to go back.
But step out of the race.
Reclaim what’s still free: your body, your breath, your mind.
Choose less. Grow something. Cook slow.
Talk with your neighbor instead of ordering from an app.
Shruti:
That sounds poetic. But it’s hard. We don’t even know how to use our hands anymore.
Madhukar (nods gently):
You were trained not to.
School made you a consumer of answers, not a maker of solutions.
You outsource everything—even joy.
Nitin:
But don’t you feel poor here? No salary. No gadgets. No backup plan?
Madhukar:
I feel rich every time I cut wood.
Rich when my goat gives milk.
When the rain arrives.
When a child asks a question.
What you call luxury, I call dependency.
What you call convenience, I call bondage.
Anita:
So what do we do now? We can’t quit our jobs tomorrow.
Madhukar:
Don’t. But change your rhythm.
Say no to one lie at a time.
Unsubscribe from one addiction a month.
Plant one pot.
Cook one real meal.
Fix one torn shirt.
Say one honest sentence.
And one day, you’ll find—you’ve walked out of the prison barefoot, smiling.
(A long pause. A koel sings. Someone weeps quietly. The neem leaves rustle like old wisdom returning.)
---
Madhukar (smiling):
A hundred years ago, life was hard.
But it belonged to you.
Today, life is easy.
But it belongs to someone else.
What do you want?
—
“EVERYTHING’S EASY NOW, EXCEPT LIVING”
they said
work hard, study, rise, succeed
so we did—
and now
we’re bent
on ergonomic chairs
inside towers of tinted glass
buying tomatoes from the same app
that sells sedatives.
we thought life was getting easier
but we never asked—
easier for whom?
the boss?
the banker?
the algorithm?
our grandparents
ate ragi mudde and walked five miles
slept on mud floors
but laughed louder
sang longer
and knew the smell of rain
before Google did.
we eat “superfoods”
grown in Peru
shipped in plastic
while forgetting
how to grow a brinjal
in our own backyard.
we buy water
pay for silence
tip for smiles
rent a place to cry.
we spend
our best years
saving
for a home
we never sit in
for vacations
we spend scrolling
for retirement
that comes
after the knees collapse
and the kidneys quit.
a century ago
the firewood was free
the neighbour was family
the gods lived under trees
and nobody wore shoes inside the house.
today
the shoes are branded
the house is mortgaged
the soul is outsourced.
everyone’s got apps, ACs, air fryers—
but no breath
no pause
no time
to watch an ant carry a crumb
or a child carry a dream.
we made everything easier
except
being alive.
—
