New Khosla Kunj – Ambition & Santosh (Contentment)

The Hindu philosophy that glorifies santosh (contentment) drives the middle class mindset of the generation that is in their 40s to 60s. This is reflected in the exchange between Cherry & his father when Cherry breaks the news about his plans to go to the US. His father’s first reaction is to tell him to stop dreaming so big and keep the feet firmly on the ground else he would fall flat on his face. (“Zyada bade bade sapne mat dekho. Zyada uncha udane ki koshish karoge to itna zor se neechay giroge ki daant toot jaayenge tumhaare.. America mein tumhare liye koi red carpet le ke nahi baita hua hai..”) Father’s reaction is rooted in an aversion to being overly ambitious.

The father-son mindset diverges at a point where father thinks that a good job is good life whereas son’s view is that a good is not good enough. This is reflected yet again when Cherry is talking to his mother at the dining table and the mother is asking if his job in India is not good enough (“yahaan ki job theek nahi hai kya?” To which the son replies by saying that good is not good enough (“Sirf theek se toh nahin hota hai na ma.”)

These two sequences highlight the generational divide in the mindsets. On one side parents look at a good job in a good company as the epitome of success and on the other hand the son looks at success as a continuum where with no stopping or looking back.