Column

Has the urban Indian ever had it so good? Not only does she enjoy the hamper of goodies that Messrs Manmohan, Montek and PC have bestowed on her — the malls, multiplexes, ATMs, and EMIs that reform has resulted in, but what’s more, she also gets to choose from the rest of the comfort zone that India provides.

For instance, today not only do housewives have the luxury of washing their clothes in a labour-saving machine. But when a special item needs extra care, they still have their bai to hand wash and dry and iron for them.

And if the working executive is too tired to go to the spanking new mall on his weekly shopping spree for household essentials,there is always the local grocer who will home deliver in a jiffy at the drop of a phone call.

In today’s India we are spoilt for choice. Tired of Barista? Try cutting chai for a change. Looking for a fishy meal? You can opt for sushi one day and Trishna the next. Want to buy an outfit? You have a choice of the Versaces along with the Vallayas.

Where else in the world will you get delicious mouth watering kulfi on the same street as scrumptious Gelato? Or find it perfectly respectable to turn up at a party in hand made Kohlapuris from a village in Maharashtra or super luxurious Jimmy Choos from last season’s Paris show depending on your mood and who you want to be that night? In which other culture would it be OK on a festive occasion to gift someone something from Tiffany or a traditional thali? Or use kajal made by a little store in Girgaum one night and Mac from a mall the next?

The point is that one of the best things about India today is the fact that we still have all these options available to us: the big brands and the little stores that sell from the unorganised sector; the labour-saving devices along with the drivers, cooks, bais and bearers. The old with the new.

Speaking to a friend recently relocated to London, who lives in super-luxury with a full-time housekeeper and a chauffeur, I still found her longing for the comfort of back home Mumbai.

It’s a hard life out there, she admitted, conceding of course that she has it so much better than the rest. “When people invite you for a drink at seven —you bloody well make sure you’re there on the dot.”

Here, in Mumbai because of the laissez faire, chalta hai attitude you could show up any time from seven to nine and still be welcome. What’s more she continued, “you may have a housekeeper, but by god they will absolutely not extend themselves beyond their given duties or hours. And as for being an individual dresser — without your neighbourhood tailor —you are forced to buy only what’s available in the stores and thus dress exactly like every one else you know?”

A frightening sterile choice-less existence. Makes you realise how fortunate we are right here right now.
s_malavika@dnaindia.net