Economic and non-economic activities

The chapter opens with Swami Vivekananda: 'When you are doing any work, do not think of anything beyond. Do it as worship, as the highest worship, and devote your whole life to it for the time being.'

Anu and Kabir are playing in the park when their neighbour Geeta Aunty gets out of a taxi in uniform: she is a pilot in the Indian Air Force, the pride of the whole town. That sets the two children listing what everyone around them does.

Kabir's grandfather retired from the Border Security Force. Now he gives free Geography classes to the neighbourhood children, looks after the vegetable garden and runs errands for the home.

Anu's parents run a shop selling uniforms and ready-made clothes, and her mother also helps a voluntary group that teaches stitching to women in the community. Her brother Rohan is a software engineer in a company that makes computer apps; at weekends he volunteers to teach computer skills to young people in a nearby college's youth programme.

All these activities can be sorted into two groups: economic activities and non-economic activities. Think of a morning at home: the sweeper cleaning the lane is paid for it, your father going to office is paid, but your mother cooking breakfast and your grandmother watering the plants are not.

• Economic activities involve money, or are done in exchange for money or money's worth. Examples: a businessperson selling school bags, a farmer selling crops in the market, a lawyer arguing a case for a fee, a truck driver carrying goods, workers in a car factory.
• Non-economic activities do not earn income or wealth; they are done out of feelings like gratitude, love, care and respect. Examples: parents cooking for the family or helping with homework, young people caring for grandparents, family members helping to repair the house.

Some useful words:

• Money's worth: the value in money a person puts on something, because of the benefit they get from it.
• Market: a place where people exchange goods and services.
• Fee: a payment to a person or organisation for professional advice or services.
• Salary: a fixed, regular payment, usually monthly, from an employer to an employee.

And one person can do both kinds: Rohan's weekday job is economic; his weekend teaching is not.