This is the last of a series of posts on our recent trip to India. The other 3 can be found here, here and here.
I had last been to India 4 years ago just as the IT/outsourcing boom was heating up. I could notice the changes since my last trip. Calcutta was visibly better -- the traffic ran smoother than I remember it, perhaps due to a few flyovers they've built to ease congestion from certain parts of the City. The streets also looked cleaner. My in-laws took the metro and were impressed by its cleanliness and efficiency -- they said it was better than the NYC subway!
I didn't see as much of Delhi as I stayed in Gurgaon, which is a burgeoning city right next to Delhi, and an IT hub along with Bangalore and some other cities. It is one big construction project -- toll roads, office buildings, apartment complexes, malls, clubs -- all are being constructed as we speak. Despite all of this building, the roads are often filthy due to a lack of sanitation and trash collection services and the apathy of many Indians. The electricity in Gurgaon seemed unstable -- most buildings had their own generators. And many buildings are literally crumbling. India has long recognized the need to maintain and improve its infrastruture if it wants to compete on the world stage but it is not nearly there yet despite marked improvements in roads and transportation. For instance, a new metro just opened in Delhi, which they hope will improve traffic in the downtown areas.
The grinding poverty and the state of the streets can be jarring to the Western eye -- it is like no other country one has visited, not even a place like Tanzania. It can be draining just to get around. People comment on the mass of humanity the likes of which they have never encountered before. There are people everywhere doing everything -- working, playing, eating, cooking, even defecating, all in public view. The concept of having one's personal and private space is much more a Western thing. Someone I know recently moved back to India and recounted how he had much more private time and space in America. India's is a very social society with extended families and friends always around and doing things together.
They say India is a land of contradictions, and it is all the more the case these days. You'll see a gleaming office building that would fit in in any major Western city while ox-drawn carts pass it on the street. The newspapers are filled with ads for jobs in IT-related fields on the same pages where they write about a brother honor-killing his sister for marrying out of their caste. There are still backwards practices and customs in other countries too, including America, but somehow the contrast in India is much more readily apparent. I don't have the stats, but the income disparity is probably one of the largest in the world -- the ultra-rich drive past some of the poorest people in the world in their Mercedes to go on their jet setting lifestyle.
With all of that said, there is a burgeoning middle class and a rise in the quality of life. In a sign of the times, there was a story about a snake charmer, from a family of charmers, who is likely the last of his line. Although his business has been on the wane, he wants his child to attend college. Indian society has traditionally revolved around the extended family but this is also changing. I imagine it to be not unlike the transition to the baby boomer generation in the US, which was characterized by the rise of the nuclear family. And so I find this to be the case in India, albeit with the nuclear families still having close contact with their extended families. But they may live in different cities and holiday just with their nuclear family.
The key to participating in the global economy is the knowledge of English. There are so many jobs, so many opportunities. And with these jobs come disposable income. Air travel is now becoming an affordable leisure pursuit for the middle class (and train travel is now becoming the province of the lower-income classes). Retail investors are just now starting to participate in the stock market via mutual funds and even share purchases, which people rarely did a decade ago. Where before there was help to hand wash the clothes, many now have washing machines (though the help will may still dry and iron the clothes as there are few dryers). The youth frequent internet cafes (and of coure Starbucks), restaurants (even TGIF), bars and malls just like the youth all over the developed world. And there is opportunity everywhere. Rafat writes about some of the investment opportunities. I saw lots of opportunities in providing the rising middle and upper middle class with products and services for their disposable incomes and to improve their quality of life. I didn't have as much exposure in the rural areas but there is opportunity there too of a different sort.
And underpinning all of this is an incredible excitement and optimism in India as they enjoy the fruts of their labors and recognize that India's time has come to be a player on the world stage.
"The key to participating in the global economy is the knowledge of English."
Well, sort of. These days, throughout much of E and SE Asia it's increasingly Chinese. And even in the US of all places, you can't get a job half the time unless you speak pretty good Spanish. JC Penney IIRC was on a hiring blitz recently around Baltimore, and the not-so subtle message from the hiring team was, "Don't waste your time applying unless you can talk up a decent conversation with customers in Spanish." Basically, the bilinguals were getting the good jobs, while the English-only folks were getting left out in the cold. Yeesh, harsh. Maybe not the best news to brighten your day, but it's the reality these days.
Posted by: Agamemnona | January 18, 2006 at 07:36 AM