Reflections of India - 2

So here's the big deal. India is rich. Teenagers have more money than ever before. If not , they have a credit card. Is it just because of the economy booming?

I don't agree. It's because of a new way of life, which is more influenced by the western philosophy. More and more credit cards, more and more malls, and more are the people influenced to shop. And oh, the big 'chain' restaurants. I don't think I can generalise, but when I was in college, I would not dare to ask my dad for 100 Rs . to spend on one coffee in a 'coffee' house . And again, not that we did not spend money. But, somewhere show business has come into picture quite a lot. It's just so 'cool' to sit in cafe coffee day, and it's so 'uncool' to go to a local restaurant and have coffee. Surprising.

The positive side is, though, that it is fun. There's a lot of life which somehow was non existent. I mean, now there are umpteen places to hang out, as opposed to a very few.

And of course, cultural values have changed. It's no longer a taboo to divorce someone and move on, and as pre martial relations and teenager independence are going over the roof, the new Indian generation is breaking the shackles of that 'Humaare yahaan aisa sab nahin hota' thing. While some of it is wrong, I do believe that it's good in a way, since I would rather follow something in which I believe in rationally, than just be forced into it since I was brought up here. Maybe it needs a little bit more care.

One interesting thing I observed, which follows from one of my earlier blog posts, is that somewhere we have developed the tendency of going the 'under the table ' way, instead of going straight. Somehow every employed person who tries to do his duty, is considered 'khadoos' and the corrupt guy is considered - 'flexible aadmi hai'. I found , particularly in this visit, that most working class people will do their duties properly, if you speak politely to them( One guy was just too shocked, when I said 'Aap please zaraa yeh kar denge' ) Something, which we might have never tried, might just work . It's about giving it a shot.

This post has been badly structured, sorry for that. I just had too many thoughts, and could not organize them properly. Your comments are welcome.