“There is more to life than simply increasing its speed.” – Mahatma Gandhi
In a world where the vast majority of people are inundated with fast food, faster internet and instant access to communication, the idea of “slow living” is a radical act of defiance against contemporary notions of life. The cause was borne as a reaction against the hectic lifestyle of urban life, combined with the glorification of the hustle culture.
The slow living movement focuses on intentionality, being present, sustainability, and adjusting priorities. Although slow living emerged from the west, particularly with the "slow food" movement in Italy in the 1980s, it is finding some curious takers among urban dwellers in India. The dilemma still remains - is slow living in Indian cities just a fad for the privileged; or is it a much deeper and possibly sustainable lifestyle change?
Understanding Slow Living: Philosophy and Practice
Slow living is not the same as doing things really slowly. It means mindfully engaging with life and discusses quality over quantity - for work, relationships, consumption, and the management of time. It encourages sustainable consumption, work-life balance, mental wellness, and reconnecting with our community and nature.
Principles of slow living include:
- Intention: Living with purpose and mindfulness.
- Sustainability: Making environmentally-conscious decisions.
- Simplicity: More freedom by lessening physical clutter, mental clutter, and digital clutter.
- Community: Building relationships that are genuine and caring, instead of being transactional.
In practice, it could be buying local goods, prioritizing health and wellbeing over unending work, reducing the amount of time you spend on screens, or doing freelance or entrepreneurial work instead of a full time, corporate job to regain control over your lifestyle.
Slow Living in the India Context or A Cultural Memory?
India with its traditions of Ahimsa (non-violence), Aparigraha (non-possessiveness), and Sanyam (self-restraint), has long engaged with the idea of slow living, well before the term was fashionable. "Jeevan ka Anand" (joy of life) and "Sahajta" (effortlessness) are both expressions of these values. Values based on Ayurveda, yoga, traditional cooking, crafts, etc. all define a slowness for living in a more holistic way.
Modern Sushirana cities like Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Delhi, Hyderabad, on the other hand, are characterized by speed, ambition, and consumerism. The transition from a traditional society to urban and then industrial and now service sector society has been disruptive as those cities never returned to the slowness. The contemporary slow living practices that have recently emerged in these cities are perhaps some form a re-balancing act as they involve awakening the pasts through some memory of cultural reasons in the digital age.
The Urban Catalyst: The Time is Now?
- Burn Out & Hustle Fatigue
The urban youth of India have grown up in a system that rewards competition, long hours, and a culture that idolises over-full lives. The pandemic and lockdowns have forced a pause and to ask the question: "What do I really want?" For many urban youth, this resulted in lifestyle changes, choosing to leave high-stress work situations, move back to smaller towns or start ventures from home.
- Mental Health Awareness
Anxiety, depression and digital fatigue have opened up conversations about mental health and digital wellness movements such as digital detoxing, mindful social media use, and nature therapy are now growing with slow living ideals.
- Work Life Integration
The rise of remote work in our post-pandemic world has created the opportunity to rethink work-life integration. Remote work gives urban professionals the ability to reflect more time towards leisure, family, and wellness, all key tenants of slow living.
- Climate Crisis & Sustainability
The climate crisis has urged urban Indians to think about their levels of consumption, particularly regarding sustainability. Urban youth are drawn to initiatives like zero waste living, minimalist fashion, and local farm-to-table eating, and this trend of sustainability is only growing among socially conscious millennials and gen Z.
Who Can Afford Slow Living?
An important critique of slow living practices in Indian cities is that they are a privilege of the economic elite. Particularly in this context, many of the practices that drop the pace of our lives require cultural, social, and economic capital: reducing work hours; consuming alternate or sustainable products (which are often more expensive); and moving to a slow town. Most of these options are only available to middle- and upper-middle classes.
For daily wage labourers, gig economy riders, and salaried professionals scraping by on a paycheck-to-paycheck basis, slow living is out of reach. Slow living is a dream. It raises an important question: Can slow living be inclusive? Is slow living just another ideal around a lifestyle reinforced in economic privilege?
Slow Becoming a Social Act of Resistance
In spite of the seriousness of the class issue, Slow itself can be regarded as a form of resistance — to capitalism, to the rampant destruction of environments, to tech companies' domination of our attention. Young people, especially in the wake of the pandemic, are increasingly vocal about valuing mental peace over financial success.
Fridays for Future IndiaMinimalist living YouTubers, and rural relocation influencers are movements that demonstrate awareness and desire to occupy space for something more than consumerism. As cities become increasingly polluted, stressful, and unequal places to live, slow living becomes more than aspirational living, it becomes mandatory for survival and sanity.
Is It Really Just a Trend?
While it is true that elements of slow living have been commercialized, such as high-end wellness retreats or artisanal brands, the principal concepts of slow living are slowly permeating the urban core. Slow living differs from a fad; it is based on principles and values that are timeless and relatable in all cultures across generations.
Slow living is also being modified to address Indian realities:
Local produce that may not be organic over imported organic
Public parks and community libraries as spaces of leisure and slowness
Simple rituals in daily life: chai break, evening walks, spiritual chanting.
This localized version of slow living suggests that the Western product may appeal to specific audience segments, but Indian slow living may have a cultural significance and some durability.
A Quiet Revolution in Progress
Slow living in Indian cities is not just a trend. While the current shape may be biased towards the privileged, its philosophy has universal relevance. In the face of escalating urban stress, it is offering a sustainable, inclusive, and human response to contemporary challenges.
Which means, to fully adopt it as a practice, we will need to shift urban planning,corporate mindset, and public consciousness. But the signs are encouraging. From balcony gardens, to unplugged Sundays we are witnessing a quiet revolution taking place in the hearts of India's crowded cities.
Perhaps slow living's greatest promise is this: that in a country far too in motion, we can still find space to stop, breathe, and regain the rhythm of our life - one deliberate action at a time.
By Ananya Awasthi
