The ‘middle class’ embodies a unique blend of practicality, ambition, and resilience.
It thrives on balancing dreams with realities, finding joy in small victories, and navigating life with resourcefulness and determination.
Unwritten rules for the middle class in India often revolve around maintaining social respectability, managing finances prudently, and striving for upward mobility.
These can vary by region and culture but commonly include:
1) Financial Prudence
l Save first, spend later: Prioritize savings over indulgence; financial security is paramount.
l Invest in gold and property: Owning gold and real estate is considered a safe and prestigious investment.
l Avoid debt wherever possible: Loans are taken only for essential needs like education, home, or emergencies.
l Bargain for value: Bargaining at markets and seeking discounts is seen as practical, not cheap.
2) "Education: The Cornerstone of the Middle-Class Dream"
l Education is everything: A good education is the cornerstone of success, and parents go to great lengths to ensure it for their children.
l Engineering or medicine first: These fields are prioritized for their perceived job security and social prestige.
l Government jobs are gold: Securing a stable government position is still a dream career for many.
l Avoid risk in careers: Entrepreneurship and unconventional career paths are often met with skepticism.
3) "Food and the Middle Class: A Blend of Frugality, Flavor, and Family":
l For the middle class, food is more than sustenance—it symbolizes togetherness, culture, and careful budgeting.
l Food is very important for middle-class people. They feel that they earn to eat.
l Quality is important and to order comfortably in a nice restaurant is a feeling of richness.
4) "Home in the Middle Class: A Symbol of Stability, Aspirations, and Shared Dreams”
l We would like to have a house of our own, as a security for old age and our thinking is that we should pay the loan installments rather than paying rent so that we can have a property and a roof over our head which we can call our own.
l We feel that paying rent is a waste of our money.
5) ”Repair over Replace: The Middle Class Philosophy”
l Fixing what’s Broken, not buying New.
l We prefer to repair damaged items ourselves or look for a local repairer rather than going for repairs in a company showroom as we feel the latter charge exorbitant rates.
l This process reflects the middle-class inclination to save and make things last, even if repair occasionally turns out to be costlier than replacing with a new item.
6) Relationships over Riches
l We believe in nurturing relationships and valuing emotional and financial wealth over material wealth. According to us, they are a source needed for survival.
l We wish to live with relations and in old times joint family concept was adapted so that when one is in trouble others are there to help him emotionally and financially.
7) "Weddings in the Middle Class: Tradition, Celebration, and the Pursuit of Dreams"
l Sometimes we even borrow money from greedy money lenders with a very high rate of interest and spend our entire life returning the same.
8) "Recycling Gifts: A Tradition of Sharing and Saving"
l On some occasions like birthdays, weddings, etc. sometimes some excellent gifts are given by the guests. After the party is over the whole family sits surrounding the gifts and sees that the good gift is kept aside to be passed on to other people’s occasions.
l And the height is that even the gift wrappers are kept under the mattress so that they remain straight and can be used for another gift wrap.
l It’s a clever and thoughtful way of managing resources while keeping traditions alive.
9) "The Toothpaste Ritual: Squeezing Every Last Bit"
l We waste nothing. Once the toothpaste or for that matter, any other tube is finished, it is cut and the material inside is used for a few days more.
l "Stretching Every Drop, Squeezing Every Bit: A Way of Life"- a hallmark of middle-class resourcefulness and value-driven living.
l The practice of cutting open a finished toothpaste tube is a classic example of the middle-class focus on resourcefulness and frugality.
10) "Soft Drink Bottles: The Middle-Class Multitaskers"
l Soft drink bottles and ice-cream containers when empty are used as water bottles in the fridge and ice-cream containers are used for storing rations, pulses, rice, and keep biscuits, etc.
l It showcases how nothing goes to waste in middle-class homes.
11) Preserving the Newness
l While purchasing a new car we do not remove the polythene seat covers of the car for quite some time, otherwise, how would the people know that we have purchased a new car.
l This quirky tradition reflects the middle-class desire to celebrate and showcase achievements in subtle, yet unmistakable ways.
12) ”Torch or Remotes cells: The middle-class culture of Reuse”
l We squeeze these cells of their entire power. The torch and remotes are beaten black & blue if they slow down. And the funny part is that they also start functioning for some time before getting a beating again.
l This habit of prolonging the life of batteries reflects a frugal mindset where nothing goes to waste, and every item is used to its fullest potential.
l One can occasionally see a remote being beaten for the cells to energize and start working again.
13) ”Old Clothes:A Symbol of Sustainability and Resourcefulness"
l Why throw old and torn clothes?? Like I said, we never waste anything. These old clothes are used for making shopping bags or ‘pocha’ (mop).
l In middle-class households, old clothes rarely go to waste. Instead, they are often repurposed, recycled, or creatively reused.
l I remember a funny incident where a pajama used by an elder brother was given to the younger brother to wear. From there it went on to make a shopping bag. When the bag was worn out it was used to make a mop. See how we use things!
14) "Bargaining: The Middle-Class Birthright"
l For the middle class, bargaining is not just a skill—it’s often seen as a natural right or an essential part of the shopping experience.
l Our shopping is not complete without bargaining, whether it is clothes, furniture, vegetables or fruits or you can say we have the quality to bargain for ‘anything and everything’.
l At a store where ‘Fixed Price’ board is placed, even God cannot stop us from bargaining,
l Believe it or not we are happy even if we manage to get a few rupees reduced, otherwise we would prefer to move out of the shop and go to another shop, sometimes even leaving behind the item that we had selected for purchase.
15) "Anything Free is Acceptable: The Middle-Class Maxim"
l In middle-class households, getting something for free is often met with enthusiasm and appreciation.
l We are always on the lookout for free things.
l The manufacturers are also aware of our mentality and come up with schemes like "Buy one Get one Free" and we proudly tell others that I have got one thing free with the other, although the price of the thing is more than the usual price, BUT it is 'free for us'.
l It is a great satisfaction and we think we have won a battle if we manage the vegetable vendor to give us some free ‘dhaniya’ and ‘mirchi’ ( coriander and chilies).
16) The Eternal Electricity Lecture:
l The best part is when a fat electricity bill arrives.
l The entire family is on its toes to switch off the lights and fans. Each family member blames the other for the wastage of electricity and the fat bill.
l Father will say “I knew this time we are going to get a huge electricity bill. You people let the lights and fans run even when you are not in the room.
l I always have to see that I switch them off when you are not in the room”.
l And saying this he may even switch off the fans and lights while the family members are still sitting there.
In the end, the middle class isn’t just an economic category—it’s a mindset, a way of life, and a testament to the strength of ordinary people doing extraordinary things every day.
‘We are Middle-Class people’ and have many such rules and ‘qualities’ but I am proud to say that we form the backbone of the country by paying highest taxes than any other class. Proud to belong to Middle Class.
What about my other middle-class friends? Please comment and send the unwritten rules you have made for yourself.
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