I went for a stand up show last night to watch an actor cum producer cum stand up comic who I’d interviewed years ago. I felt rather proud watching him in HK. As if me turning the spotlight on him 12 years ago is what really made him shine. Journalists in India often believe they are nothing short of God and I smiled down at KK like I had brought him to life. As I laughed a little extra hard at his jokes, as all proud mothers do, I found myself getting nostalgic about growing up as a middle class Indian through the 80s and 90s.

The jokes about deprivation drew the most heartfelt laughs. Everyone in the audience recalled how they all held onto a treasured gift from a foreign returned uncle,how the kids cherished the free bottles of shampoo and conditioner their fathers got back from business trips and how at a fine dining restaurant, one soup could be magically divided into as many members of the family as were present at the table.

Life is so much easier now. My house is filled with quirky curios that I have picked up on my many international vacations. Vacations, mind you, not company-paid work trips. As customer, I am queen of every luxury brand store should I choose to walk into it. I don’t, but that’s a different matter. And of course, I never carry back the hotel shampoo and conditioner because well, that’s so LS, isn’t it. Yes, deprivation is a thing of the past. Life is so much easier now. I just miss the days when it was simpler.