Bare minimum

When I meet new people or catch up with old friends/acquantances, I am really surprised at how careless some of us can be about very basic responsibilities. Like seriously, after so many years of living on this planet and after achieving so many milestones, there are still people who don’t even have a proper bank account or haven’t bothered to link their Aadhaar with their PAN card (if you still have Indian passport). That’s not a “small mistake,” that’s straight-up irresponsible. We really can’t afford to be this ignorant in 2025. Opening a bank account or linking Aadhaar and PAN is not some extra work the government asks us to do for no reason. It is linked with our day to day activities. Yet, many people avoid these responsibilities until the very last minute, and suddenly, it’s the government’s fault for creating “extra layers. Another one that blows my mind is people who still can’t drive. Like… in India?? Where traffic, commuting, and mobility literally define daily life? Not knowing how to drive at this point feels like another level of negligence. I get it, not everyone can afford a car or bike, but learning how to drive is about independence. It can literally save you in emergencies and just makes day-to-day life way easier. I know — in rural areas or with older generations, maybe digital literacy or access wasn’t always possible. Totally fair. But for most people, it’s not about access. It’s about attitude. People procrastinate, they brush it off like “oh, I’ll do it later,” and then when reality hits, all hell breaks lose. I watched a movie called The Life List last night and it made me think. I remembered how, as a kid, I had this list of things I wanted to achieve in life. But somewhere along the way, I stopped. Did I achieve everything? Nah. So why did I stop? No clue. But guess what, I’m making a fresh list today for the next 20 years. Hell yeah.