Every time I go to Bangalore, I love it all the more. For a person coming from Chennai, its like being moved from a heater to a cooler! Its so cool and awesome. Dunno why Chennaites have a problem with this place, they keep saying: Everything is bad except the weather. Come on, this proves that they haven't been to a city before! And comparing Bangalore and Chennai is just not right, Chennai is a very old so-called metro and Blore has seen all this growth in just 15 years. But anyways this post is not about either of these cities.
This post is about Delhi and Mumbai. Delhi unlike the other metros was left untouched by the British. Hence, apart from being a political capital it had to rebuild itself from scratch. Till the 80s Mumbai was the best bet for both entrepreneurs and workers because Kolkata had destroyed itself with communism, and Chennai had language issues, due to which no one outside TN invested in the city. But Delhi has seen an amazing growth in the last 20 years, some changes owed to political will and the rest because the economy had opened up to the delight of entrepreneurs. Today, its been debated whether Delhi will take over Mumbai as the financial capital because both investors and financial institutions have a marked presence here.
This also connects to the other debate of whether NSE will take over BSE. An apt debate here puts across the comparison of both the exchanges. Till the 90s BSE was almighty and ruled over by the select few Mumbai based companies, which was also one reason of its rigidness. And then saying no to derivatives also hit it badly. Though recently Madhu Kannan is planning for a comeback, the message we get is that the battle is on!
As for infrastructure Delhi gone way ahead than most of the cities. With the Delhi metro and the mushrooming of the nearby satellite cities of Gurgaon and Noida, it has the most reigning factor that Mumbai does not have: SPACE. And Bangalore and Hyderabad have even come up with their second airports, Mumbai realized the need for second airport in 2007 which leaves many things to be said about the infrastructure status.
And the other aspects like food, culture, and shopping Delhi is at par with Mumbai if not better.
Another interesting aspect is about Bollywood tilting towards Delhi. Just count how many movies have you seen recently with a Delhi-centric plot. Delhii Heights, Khosla Ka Ghosla, Oye Lucky Lucky Oye, Dev.D, Love Aaj Kal, Do Dooni Chaar, Aisha, Break ke baad, Band Baaja Baraat, Pyaar ka Punchnaama and of course, Delhi Belly! Well Bollywood has definitely studied its audience unlike BSE. And for MTV, Roadies and Splitsvilla are so loaded with contestants from Delhi and Chandigarh, I am starting to wonder if MTV still conducts its auditions in Mumbai. I won't be surprised if it shifts base to Delhi. Same for Channel V.
The problem is, since 80s Delhi has striked the right chords and Mumbai the wrong ones. The Shiv Sena backlash on the immigrants (Its worst mistake was to target immigrant entrepreneurs); the 92 riots (again the temple was 1000 kms away, no other city reacted and the ripples were felt in a big way here. Leaves a lot to be read between lines); the underworld nexus (somehow the worst criminals are created here! no idea why); the crouching CM and the hidden Deputy CM have not done anything good for the city yet (the slums still exist and keep growing). Just two days gone after the blast and we are still waiting for the government to act, but this too shall pass. Another one will come soon.
With the regional hatred breeding in and growing each day, Mumbai is going nowhere. Actually, its a strange thing about being a city. If you don't welcome people you stop growing.Take any city from ancient Florence to today's New York. These places have become cities only because they were melting pots of different cultures and thrived on settlers. It doesn't happen when you are ethnocentric and biased to people from different culture. This is the same reason why Chennai and Kolkata still have trouble claiming the status of a metro.
This post is about Delhi and Mumbai. Delhi unlike the other metros was left untouched by the British. Hence, apart from being a political capital it had to rebuild itself from scratch. Till the 80s Mumbai was the best bet for both entrepreneurs and workers because Kolkata had destroyed itself with communism, and Chennai had language issues, due to which no one outside TN invested in the city. But Delhi has seen an amazing growth in the last 20 years, some changes owed to political will and the rest because the economy had opened up to the delight of entrepreneurs. Today, its been debated whether Delhi will take over Mumbai as the financial capital because both investors and financial institutions have a marked presence here.
This also connects to the other debate of whether NSE will take over BSE. An apt debate here puts across the comparison of both the exchanges. Till the 90s BSE was almighty and ruled over by the select few Mumbai based companies, which was also one reason of its rigidness. And then saying no to derivatives also hit it badly. Though recently Madhu Kannan is planning for a comeback, the message we get is that the battle is on!
As for infrastructure Delhi gone way ahead than most of the cities. With the Delhi metro and the mushrooming of the nearby satellite cities of Gurgaon and Noida, it has the most reigning factor that Mumbai does not have: SPACE. And Bangalore and Hyderabad have even come up with their second airports, Mumbai realized the need for second airport in 2007 which leaves many things to be said about the infrastructure status.
And the other aspects like food, culture, and shopping Delhi is at par with Mumbai if not better.
Another interesting aspect is about Bollywood tilting towards Delhi. Just count how many movies have you seen recently with a Delhi-centric plot. Delhii Heights, Khosla Ka Ghosla, Oye Lucky Lucky Oye, Dev.D, Love Aaj Kal, Do Dooni Chaar, Aisha, Break ke baad, Band Baaja Baraat, Pyaar ka Punchnaama and of course, Delhi Belly! Well Bollywood has definitely studied its audience unlike BSE. And for MTV, Roadies and Splitsvilla are so loaded with contestants from Delhi and Chandigarh, I am starting to wonder if MTV still conducts its auditions in Mumbai. I won't be surprised if it shifts base to Delhi. Same for Channel V.
The problem is, since 80s Delhi has striked the right chords and Mumbai the wrong ones. The Shiv Sena backlash on the immigrants (Its worst mistake was to target immigrant entrepreneurs); the 92 riots (again the temple was 1000 kms away, no other city reacted and the ripples were felt in a big way here. Leaves a lot to be read between lines); the underworld nexus (somehow the worst criminals are created here! no idea why); the crouching CM and the hidden Deputy CM have not done anything good for the city yet (the slums still exist and keep growing). Just two days gone after the blast and we are still waiting for the government to act, but this too shall pass. Another one will come soon.
With the regional hatred breeding in and growing each day, Mumbai is going nowhere. Actually, its a strange thing about being a city. If you don't welcome people you stop growing.Take any city from ancient Florence to today's New York. These places have become cities only because they were melting pots of different cultures and thrived on settlers. It doesn't happen when you are ethnocentric and biased to people from different culture. This is the same reason why Chennai and Kolkata still have trouble claiming the status of a metro.
4 comments:
GAL YOU CAN SERIOUSLY BECOME A COLUMNIST! how can you write sooo in depth? :)
anyway.... nothin is good abt bang except the climate ;) :P
I always wanted to become a columnist :( Its just that journalism doesn't pay........ I disagree man, blore is shopper's paradise! You just haven't explored much :)
A great post !!! Agreed with everything you said ! Delhi will overtake Mumbai, Bangalore is a great place and has great weather too and Mumbai is not doing too good, and the terror attacks aren't helping either.
And for Calcutta it is not only the godless communism, but also illegal Bangladeshi immigrants (3000 per day) who are mostly uneducated and unskilled.
Honestly I prefer B'lore to Chennai .. Chennai might have 100 times better infrastructure and facilites than Bangalore, but the way outsiders (North Indians) are treated (and cheated) is too much to handle. Hyderabad is good except that the loud-speakers are really very loud five times a day.
Great post ! You should become a columnist.
Thanx Benny :)20 years before who could have predicted the destiny of all these cities!
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