| Urban India is in a constant state of flux, overburdened
by a burgeoning population and its attendant problems. As civic amenities struggle to
cope, cities become unwieldy and hard to live in. The Indian metropolis makes everybody
feel they are crazy to live there but they would be crazier if they lived anywhere else.
Yet in all this churning there is always one city that gets favourable attention from
business and offers a better quality of life. Once it was Mumbai, then Bangalore. Today it's the new Delhi. Delhi has been described as an overgrown village, Dullsville and babutown,
scorned particularly by Mumbaiites who regard themselves a breed apart. But the '90s
changed all that as Delhi's growth began to run parallel to the opening of the economy.
More than half of all multinationals are headquartered in Delhi. It is also the largest
market for consumer goods. Space was not an issue either, for Delhi has expanded into its
surrounding states, like the new developments in Noida (Uttar Pradesh) and Gurgaon
(Haryana). But more than this, Delhi has evolved after-work hours as well. No longer dull,
it is home to 100 art galleries, nine golf courses, top class discotheques, bowling
alleys, an array of restaurants, even the country's first multiplex -- basically it caters
to every taste.
The story started off as a commercial comparison between
Mumbai and Delhi. Yet the more Senior Assistant Editor Rohit Saran researched, the more he
found a change in Delhi. So he widened the scope of his story, interviewing everyone from
motor mechanics to CEOs. As he says, "Delhi's boom is having a demonstration effect
on other cities. Now they want to be like us."
Orissa though continues to occupy our attention. Last week
our Care Today team travelled to the state and, after observing the ground situation,
struck upon a novel idea. Thousands of children have been orphaned by the cyclone and our
trust has decided to help rehabilitate some of them, whether it is educating them or
finding them homes. They have suffered an irreplaceable loss but they are now the
responsibility of this nation.
(Aroon Purie) |
