Mayanglambam Meerina

When some celebrate abundance, others struggle for the bare necessities of life. The contrast raises an uncomfortable question about our collective conscience and the society we have created.

There is something deeply unsettling about a society that continues to celebrate extravagantly while a considerable section of its population struggles to make ends meet. Festivals, celebrations and social gatherings are traditionally meant to bring people together, spread happiness and strengthen the bonds of humanity.

Yet, when such celebrations take place against a backdrop of social unrest, economic uncertainty, displacement, unemployment and everyday hardship, they also expose an uncomfortable reality: the growing distance between those who can afford to celebrate and those who are simply trying to survive.

The question is not whether people should stop celebrating during difficult times. Happiness should never become a privilege reserved for the wealthy, nor should the poor be expected to abandon every moment of joy because of their circumstances. The real question is whether we have become so accustomed to displaying prosperity that we have stopped noticing the suffering that exists alongside it.

The widening distance between two realities

India’s economic figures offer an important perspective on this social divide. According to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation’s Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2023–24, the average monthly per capita consumption expenditure was estimated at ₹4,122 in rural India and ₹6,996 in urban India.

However, averages often conceal the deeper differences within society. The bottom five per cent of the rural population had an average monthly per capita expenditure of just ₹1,677, while the corresponding figure for the top five per cent was ₹10,137. In urban India, the difference was even more striking: ₹2,376 for the bottom five per cent compared to ₹20,310 for the top five per cent.

These figures are not merely economic measurements. They represent two vastly different experiences of everyday life. For one household, festival shopping, expensive decorations, elaborate feasts and entertainment may be an ordinary part of the season. For another, the same period may mean calculating the cost of rice, cooking oil, vegetables, school expenses, electricity bills and medicines before deciding whether anything extra can be afforded.

The World Inequality Report 2026 further highlights the concentration of economic resources in India. Its estimates indicate that the wealthiest 10 per cent hold around 65 per cent of the country’s total wealth, while the bottom 50 per cent possess only about 6.4 per cent. The richest one per cent alone account for approximately 40.1 per cent of total wealth.

Such figures reveal that economic inequality is not simply about differences in lifestyle. It is also about unequal access to security, opportunities, resources and the freedom to enjoy life without constantly worrying about tomorrow.

When celebrations become a display of privilege

In contemporary society, celebrations have increasingly acquired dimensions beyond tradition and togetherness. The scale of an event is often measured through expenditure, grand decorations, expensive clothing, lavish food arrangements, social-media visibility and public displays of status.

What should ideally be an expression of collective happiness sometimes becomes an exhibition of purchasing power. The pressure to keep up with social expectations has also affected middle- and lower-income families, who may stretch their limited resources to participate in celebrations simply to avoid social judgement.

Meanwhile, those who cannot afford such displays are often left watching from the margins. Their inability to participate does not necessarily reflect a lack of enthusiasm or cultural attachment; it may simply reflect the harsh mathematics of survival.
There is a profound difference between celebrating because one has the means to do so and celebrating at the cost of neglecting one’s basic responsibilities. Similarly, there is a difference between enjoying prosperity and displaying it without sensitivity to the struggles of others.

The irony becomes sharper when a society spends enormously on temporary displays of grandeur but pays comparatively little attention to the people around it who lack food security, stable employment, adequate healthcare or decent housing.

The contradiction of celebration during a chaotic phase

The moral dimension of celebration becomes particularly significant during periods of turmoil. When families are displaced, livelihoods are disrupted, communities remain divided and uncertainty continues to shape everyday life, extravagant festivities can appear disconnected from the collective reality.

In places experiencing prolonged social or political instability, the contrast can be even more painful. While some families may have the financial freedom to organise elaborate celebrations, others may still be struggling to rebuild their homes, recover their livelihoods, educate their children or meet basic household expenses.

A celebration does not automatically become insensitive because society is passing through a difficult phase. However, a lack of empathy can make even the most colourful occasion appear hollow.

Humanity is not measured by how beautifully we illuminate our homes, how generously we arrange a feast or how grandly we organise an event. It is reflected in how conscious we remain of those whose lives are less fortunate than ours.

The invisible burden of everyday survival

Perhaps the most overlooked section of this discussion is the ordinary household that rarely attracts public attention. These are families whose monthly income is consumed by rent, food, education, transportation, healthcare and other unavoidable expenses.
For a daily-wage worker, a day without work may mean a day without income. For a small vendor, a poor business day can affect the family’s next meal. For a parent struggling to educate a child, even a modest festival expense may require borrowing money or postponing another essential payment.

While wealthier sections of society may view festivals as opportunities for recreation and social prestige, financially vulnerable families often experience them through a different lens: additional expenses, social obligations and the pressure to maintain appearances.

The question, therefore, is not simply about the rich celebrating and the poor suffering. It is about a social structure in which the ability to enjoy life is heavily influenced by one’s economic position.

Rediscovering the meaning of humanity

Festivals are not the enemy of social consciousness. In fact, their deeper meaning lies in generosity, compassion, sharing and the recognition that happiness becomes more meaningful when it is shared.

A meaningful celebration need not be extravagant. It could be an additional meal for a struggling family, financial assistance to a worker, support for a displaced household, educational assistance to a child or simply an invitation that makes someone feel included rather than excluded.

There is no moral obligation for the wealthy to feel guilty about their prosperity. But prosperity also carries a social responsibility. The ability to help someone in need should not be overshadowed by the desire to impress others.

Likewise, the economically disadvantaged should not be reduced to passive recipients of sympathy. They deserve dignity, opportunity, fair wages, social security and the freedom to celebrate without financial anxiety. Ultimately, a society must be judged not merely by the celebrations it organises but by the lives it enables its people to lead.

A celebration worth remembering

Perhaps the most uncomfortable truth is that we have learnt to coexist with inequality without allowing it to disturb our conscience. We see lavish celebrations and visible deprivation in the same neighbourhood, sometimes on the same street, yet rarely question the contradiction.

Is this the progress we aspire to? Is prosperity meaningful when it exists alongside persistent deprivation? And what is the real value of a celebration if the happiness it displays remains detached from the suffering of the society around it?

Celebrations amidst chaos are not necessarily a mockery of mankind. But celebrations without compassion can certainly become a mockery of the very values they claim to represent.

The purpose of life cannot be reduced to accumulating wealth, displaying status and competing over who celebrates more grandly. Nor should the struggle for survival become the permanent destiny of a large section of humanity.

A society becomes truly prosperous not when a few can afford everything, but when everyone has enough to live with dignity, security and hope.

After all, the greatest celebration of humanity is not the brightness of the lights we put up, but the darkness we help someone else overcome.

Statistical sources used: Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2023–24. World Inequality Report 2026, India country statistics.