Page 20 - Seniorstoday July-2023 Issue

at a cocktail, I consider it an evening
wasted.’ Which, I guess, is a local version
of the social contract.
It can’t be otherwise in a city whose
double helix comprises dhandho (business)
and its grease rokda (cash). After all,
Bombay was born in a dowry chest,
and blossomed with the hormones of
commerce. Even the serial bomb blasts of
1993 went its economic jugular, bringing
12 of its most arrogant corporate towers to
their knees in almost as many minutes.
Its people have also scripted a gladrags to
riches story. When we launched Bombay
Times and its signature Page Three in
1994, none of us knew how it would hype
glamour to unthinkable heights, and
launch a million aspirations across the
social register. It became the Holy Grail
of the middle classes; more incredibly,
political Page One People air-dashed to
Bombay parties desperately seeking P3P-
status. In this disturbing phenomenon,
Celebrity has elbowed out Fame; and
Achievement languishes a distant third on
the roster of goals.
Mum-bais may sweat it out in the
commuter cattle trains, chopping dinner
vegetables on the exhausted ride home, but
Bom-babes inhabit their own metaverse.
The pampered, perfumed penthouse
parvenu have their own eternal triangle:
Willingdon Club, Alibag and Gstaad, -- or
any ultra-luxe getaway they can get to
in their private jets and/or yachts, with
matched, monogrammed luggage and
designer-dressed nannies in tow. In fact,
forget the Goa holiday ‘shack’, the Dubai
second home has actually become their
first home. Now, thanks to all the raids, the
taxman has overtaken the gossip columnist
in telling us about their staggering
possessions.
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Image courtesy: GQ
Delhiwallas have as much culture as power and money
Where do Delhiites fit in all this? If for
the Mumbaikar, money may equal power,
but the former is often pursued without
bothering about the latter, it’s quite the
opposite for the Dilli Billi, the capital’s
fat cats. The city’s hierarchies changed
dramatically several decades ago. The
dominant Lalajis were first replaced by
a diarchy of sarkari satraps and cultural
czars and czarinas. Then those from art,
fashion, food and foreign-funded NGOs
insinuated their way to the top of the
social pyramid. These would be derided
as the Khan Market gang when Narendra
Modi ushered in ‘New India’ – and later
proceeded to wipe out large tracts of
the old. The Raj from Rajpath and the
Mughals from streetnames and even the
eponymous Garden at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Fortunately the grand monuments which
lend so much space and grace to Delhi have
been survived unscathed. So far.
The good thing is that, in its best avatar,
Delhiwallas have as much culture as power
and money, courtesy the institutions both
sarkari and private. And the fact that
sprawling homes can showcase the art
collection, host the mehfil.
As a domiciled Mumbaikar, dare I say
it? Delhites have more style. Living in
the capital adds a cachet. The diplomatic
circle upping the cuisine is only one
example of the advantages of greater
exposure (but please discount, the vodka