The changing face of India

Republic Day

The other day I was delivering a talk at Delhi College of Engineering (DCE) and it was quite a revelation. When I asked the congregation of assembled students as to how many of them were carrying cell phones … virtually all hands went up. It might not be such a big deal for many of you guys reading this piece because you have taken them for granted … and to make something else very clear …. I am not an old hag lost in the warps of time … for god’s sake I am 29 … JUST 29 to be precise :) … I was in college not too long ago .. and in my "college going days" cell phones were a LUXURY which only a privileged few could afford flaunting … incoming calls were priced at 5 to 6 rupees/min not to mention outgoing calls … Within a span of 5-6 years the landscape has changed … and HOW!

While @ DCE, I came across eager Java developer-wannabes … who were as clued in to J2ME as designer brands … fake or authentic :) …

This is indeed the face of new India … I asked them next as to how many of them belonged to the “metros” and again surprisingly small town India was well represented. IT has thus been a great abridger of the class difference … IT is the Raja Ram Mohan Roy of this millennium … it is the harbinger of 'class' parity ....

The question is “What has IT got to do with the demographics of an engineering college?” … Nothing on the face of it … but it has fuelled dreams, it has fired aspirations, ambitions and desire … small town India wants its share in the "good life" pie ... (which has tranlated itself into the IT pie by and large) and is giving its “metro” cousins a run for their money …

The STKs (small town kids) might not have the snazzy “accents” ('outrageous' is the adj I can think of instead of 'snazzy' … but most kids find accents “snazzy”, “cool”, “with it”) and might have grown to appreciate low-rise jeans quite late in life unlike their “METRO” cousins … but boy! are they ramping up the numbers …

Is it a great wonder that “Kajrare…..” dominated the music charts everywhere … including the discs (thatz what the “with it” people call the discos) frequented by the “METRO” dudes and babes …

India is happening … and Tier-2 cities are tier-2 no more … The Pepsis/Cokes/Whirlpools/ITCs/HLLs of the world are sweating it out in the hinterland .. We are bridging the class/caste divide not by reservations or quota or anything else … we are bridging them by fuelling dreams … by propagating the belief that the goal is achievable.

On this Republic Day … I say to all Indians … We have come a long way … Feel proud ..

But hey! don’t jump red lights, spit on the streets, litter around or be a bum on the road … Vande Matram