The Maanga

Madras isn’t a rich city. Like Delhi[1]. In fact, it’s not even a middle class one like Bombay probably is. The look and feel of Madras is distinctly lower middle class. Which is why, when someone from Madras goes to Bangalore, an instant dislike ensues. Not because the small town, pretending to be a City, is visibly more affluent. The answer, I believe, is in the shine of wealth that is relatively rare and old.

Delhi and Bombay, inspite of being clearly more affluent, do not invoke disgust from a citizen of Madras. They in fact appeal at one layer to the Madras bred person. An old City with an established elite which cannot be breached by someone who merely has a well paying job. The relative affluence of the City is irrelevant as long as the feudal code is intact.

Bangalore though, is another story. To the passerby, it appears, yuppies with jobs are considered rich. I have now discovered, that is the source of disgust — a reasonably open class structure due to the influx of a disproportionate number of young adults earning considerable amounts of money. Result: the shine of old money is corrupted by the crassness of the new.

QED.

[1] — I haven’t set foot outside South Delhi. So, I guess, you should stop before you throw numbers and opinions.

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