June 24, 2008

Yeh Youngistan Hamara

A report titled India's Young Spenders, in The Washington Post's Business section on 6/24 talks about the how the increase in spending power for India's younger generation is changing their outlook towards spending and becoming the largest growing consumers in the world-

"These middle- and upper-class consumers, known here as "indies," or financially independent young Indians, are also delaying having children until they are in their mid- to late 20s. Studies show that they are eager to put the latest iPods, brand-name sunglasses and cellphones on their credit cards, take out a loan to get an apartment or car, and worry about it all later. "

I grew up in a different India, in the 60's, amid the fresh memories of a newly minted Independent India after the hard won freedom from the British Empire. Independence had brought Partition with it and since my grandparents homes ended up west of the Radcliffe Line they became part of the 20 million population exchange as people crossed the new borders to reach their new homelands. They like many others refugees, they had to flee due to the increasing communal violence and found themselves in their new country with nothing except the clothes on their backs. Survival was tough in the early years as they had to re-build their lives amidst the chaos the British Empire had left behind. My parents had been in their early teens and seen their world change from a comfortable lifestyle to a struggle to survive. Despite the economic struggles and adjusting to a new way of life, these were heady days. Independence had brought hope, optimism and pride in India and all things Indian. The mood reflected the lyrics of a poem written by Iqbal in early 1924 which was later set to music by Ravi Shankar and recorded by Lata Mangeshkar in the 50's - sare jahan se achcha hindustan hamara, hum bulbule hai us ki, yeh gulistan hamara which translates to "better than the entire world, is our Hindustan,We are its nightingales, and it (is) our garden abode". I grew up listening to this song in its various incarnations on the radio, Independence day celebrations, school functions and other patriotic events.

For me growing up in India during the 60's and 70's both decades of very slow economic growth and economic policies that did not promote private enterprise and strangled entrepreneurship, and large import duties meant that "stuff" such as American jeans, shampoos, tape decks etc. that young children want was not available in the open market. Specially the much coveted Levi's jeans. Friends who had relatives in the US were a hot commodity, somewhat akin to friends with beach houses in the US. The US relatives were a source for US branded clothes and other "foreign" items. One could purchase jeans in the black market, but the prices were exorbitant, and my parents just did not understand the concept of paying three times for a foreign good. They were living the legacy of simple living as taught by Gandhi plus bore the scars of their own struggles to survive and build a new life in free India.

The younger generation with their newly acquired buying power are breaking away from the traditions of marrying early, living in joint families and handing over their entire pay-checks to the parents.  They are its seems spending beyond their salaries by using credit to buy some of the big ticket items such as cars and TVs.  

The spending habits of the country's young have even given rise to a new term: "Youngistan," a twist on Hindustan, a time-honored moniker for India. Pepsi created the term as part of an ad campaign, and it's now frequently invoked by ad executives and Indian bloggers trying to describe a generation whose habits in love, life and spending are anything but traditional.

Although I love reading about the new generation defining their own highly materialistic world with no more sneaking around or waiting for approval from parents to spend their own money, I am at the same time a bit envious of this new India of this young generation with their spending power,  their break away from the bindings of Gandhian austerity, living the new Desi American Dream.  The unfulfilled yearnings for Levi's jeans, Sony tape decks and Revlon lipsticks are fading away as memories of an old world order in stark contrast to the new booming India.

If Iqbal lived in today's India would he have written -

"Sare jahan se achcha youngistan hamara, hum shoppers hai us ki, yeh mall hai hamara" which translates to "better than the entire world, is our youngistan, We are it's shoppers, and it (is) our mall".

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