The mundane
The regular
The constant yet it is compromised in our subconscious.
Well, here's a small part in understanding that mundane.
Mundane activities include everything that you do everyday. So basically it's just everything everywhere all at once! See what I did there?
Never-ending. So it's something that you see everyday, experience everyday, use everyday and still sort of take for granted. I still do have the privilege to do that. But not all people do have such a privilege. Especially some people who embrace and believe these everyday travels and duties to be their world. Their world revolve around the fact that they have to get up and dwell with the intermingling and exchanging of people in their lives. I might be talking about daily wage earners or domestic workers, migrant workers or the Homemakers.
It is not only about the way they contribute to the economy, which is unfairly more than an average amount (can't really fill this space up with statistics and data, which obviously is too boring for some readers, yet I'm still providing it); but it is also about how we take them for granted. Reflections are necessary for these "hidden fundamentals" of our lives. You see when you want to reflect on them you might not get a crystal clear picture, because that mirror is not well maintained. The following is some statistical quote about the contribution of housework to the Indian GDP, check it out.
Quoting from The LiveMint Article :
The unpaid domestic work of women in India accounts for 7.2% of the GDP, says SBI report. If all the ladies doing their household chores for their family are paid for their job, then the amount paid to them would be equivalent to about 7.5 per cent of India's GDP, according to State Bank of India's latest report (3rd March 2023, https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.livemint.com/news/india/the-invisible-labour-women-s-unpaid-domestic-work-totals-1-640-crore-hours-daily-worldwide/amp-11677829250038.html)
Our society has produced a seamless opaque mirror for their purpose, in order to keep them hidden in the riddle of a structural mess(mainly the conspiracies of patriarchal constraints, it being an abstract ideation can build structures of control, think please), which unfortunately controls their strings. This structural process is so messy, that it has a constructed constraint of its own on their daily lives. Let me give an example to make it clearer( yes I've taken up a partial responsibility of making that mirror a little less opaque).
So let's think about chalking out our daily schedules, dependent a lot on calendars, our personal memos, reminders, stick it notes, emails, work schedules and what not. What they have is a routine of constant source of regular and routinized, holiday-less and appreciation-less duties - to be precise a depressing and non-negotiable job description which the apparent societal structure has penned down for them. This structural influence on the behaviors and actions of these individuals makes us re-think the process of how we are apparently "our own masters", that our values and feelings determine our actions. It is always not the case. Take the imminent examples of mothers. I know it's not a generalized statement, but let's take the mothers of our previous generations and from my personal experiences- I have seen mothers in many families eat last, wake up first and then manage their routines according to the needs and routines of everyone else in the house - and honestly this doesn't change at any age. If this starts from the beginning of her marriage it keeps on recurring till her last breath.
(This is not the true image, but sometimes they wish it was like this).
The systematic schedule of getting up quick, managing the kitchen and then going on repeating the task everyday could be a basic logic of having a repetitive schedule, an infinite loop which doesn't know any breaks. We can make up plans, but if it involves taking them out or going out with them, it means breaking the societal structure oriented schedule that takes a Lot of effort, I mean A LOT! Do we revisit their problems? Do we revisit the fact that so many things operate so smoothly inside the home front?
Do we reflect enough on the internal mechanisms of the private sphere? No we don't. Don't say no! Admit it! Come on, that's the least we can do. Me being a woman myself, I still resist that systemic structure but unfortunately we do fall into it. I would admit these structures have bound some men into it too, they have other strings pulling them into the public sphere more. STILL NOW! Women are supposed to give long lists of their plans when they even wish to go out and spend the day in their own way. If you wish to cross me on this, well I would insist you to watch any one episode of "The Middle" or even Vidya Balan's interview where she admits that her being an equally important actress in the family, still the house help interrupts her in the middle of taking casting calls instead of disturbing her husband who might be even free from his production deals and business. So if that doesn't convince you much, do yourself a favor on a random day when you are indulging yourself in leisure, watch your Mom, wife or sister, how they handle their entire day.
Reflecting on regular processes is not just a feature of researchers you might think. It is a part of our very existence. In Sociology, people believe the Structural Functionalism theory is not so effective in real life, as it gives too much agency to the institutional systems who govern most of the actions or decisions we humans take. It takes away our own agency and makes us mere results of structural influences. It is not so, you would say. It's true, yet not really for all individuals or classes, or groups of people. What about mothers, women in general. Leave the example of middle-class homes, consider lower-middle class households. Say a woman has to manage shops, but she has to contribute equally to the morning routine. Or I have even heard stories where women being pregnant and being in their 7th month they have to sweep floors and do household chores. Well the structures have a huge influence on us, knowingly or unknowingly.
If you want another example of why it is important to reflect, well let me tell you it increases your level of conscience, your confidence and your ability to read between lines. You notice things, you notice why certain places change with time, how certain spaces change over time, how Public Spaces could turn out to be weird means of refuge for individuals and you realize that with time things might be taking a wrong turn towards downfall than a road uphill. But let's just not turn typically pessimistic (another side effect of being observant and reflective). There are still some good things and positives to focus on. Like students caring more about teachers when a good teacher leaves, they still feel bad. That means structures and institutional influences still don't control us enough to make us hate all our teachers or fear them. Individual agency is still at work. I have noticed some people still help each other while giving directions on the go, complete strangers by the way. I have noticed kids being mesmerized by watching a big fountain of water for the first time and being locked in one place even if theirparents are going away.
So yes, all I want to say is that, take some time out for self reflection. If you are a man, swap roles with a woman for once. If you are adult, swap roles with a kid, if you are a teacher, swap roles with your students, if you are a boss, swap roles with one of your absolute juniors or office helpers. Reflections humble you down. Cry out for help or read something that suits your taste. You know I have a tendency to bring up my taste of feminism everywhere, it is because it's not always about women. It is about everyone of us. The party to blame is not always men, it includes women too, including me.
No one could be invalidated, as we all belong and we all live in a similar world. All we need to do sometimes is disconnect and live outside out boxes.
That's all folks! Phew! Was quite a lot, wasn't it? Thanks for reading till the end though, that means I might be improving with my generation of messages.
Farewell then! Until next time! Cheers! Don't forget to reflect.
Reflection is really important. Sometimes, due to multiple reasons, it is hard to find a space to reflect. But, once you find it, it experience the departure of burden.