NEED over WANT

By Poornima Jha

on Feb 01, 2024

Minimalism is the philosophy of spending your time, energy, and money on things that add value to your life. It’s the art of recognizing need over want. Minimalism is a cry against a consumerist mindset where you allow yourself to drift in the direction of every marketing gimmick around you.

Saro and Lakshmi write letters to their fathers discussing their lifestyle choices. Kalyani explores the minimalist philosophy after an abusive marriage pushes her against the wall. A middle-class Bihari family discovers what a minimalist home should be like. Siddharth struggles to focus on the right things in the office while he goofs up at an important client meeting.

A family uncovers country-side fitness mantras as they are stuck in heavy rain in Coorg. At a superhero costume competition, relationships are strained and mended through the eyes of kids. A disoriented college pass–out Appu is listening to the podcast of a minimalist digital nomad, on the verge of taking a crucial life decision.

In 2024, five years after the Covid 19 pandemic hit the earth, many people still feel mentally stressed and remind themselves how to socialize. A clumsy Instagram crazy rich kid Ruhi takes a trip across Europe in an attempt to learn more about herself.

This book weaves the guiding principle of Minimalism in an anthology of part-fictional and part-real experiences. There are exercises and challenges given at the end of each chapter to drive home this philosophy.