Impressions of a Small City

Chhote chhote sheheron se, khali bore dopaharon se, hum toh jhola utha ke chale...

What is it that defines a 'chhota sheher'? By population, a city may be large by 1.8 million residents - double the size of Chandigarh.

And yet, Chandigarh is not a city you associate with being a 'small town'. It's almost 'metro' in its attitude and way of life. A small city, on the other hand, is still a chhota sheher at heart.

I would define a chhota sheher as one where the residents are still very worried about log kya kahenge. Many choices an individual makes are within certain 'acceptable' boundaries. Boundaries set by the elders and some amorphous being known as 'society'.

One important point to note here is the large population of traders and businessmen from the Jain, Maheshwari and Agrawal community in any given city in India. That partly explains why a small city may be  far more 'traditional' than any sub-metro.Punjabis are far more freewheeling and free spending, while Banias tend to be quite attached to prathas- or social conventions. 

Which is why elderly ladies find metro gals rather vexing. No sari, no bangles, no sindoor, no toerings... "Kam se kam bindi to pehen ni chahiye", is what they would like to point out after silently observing.

Kam se kam logon ko pataa to chale you are a 'decent married woman' is what they mean. But are too polite to declare, in so many words. 

As they say - in a small city, do as the localites do. Which is why a hoarding for Dena Bank featuring Juhi Chawla - without any bindi in Mumbai - has a prominent red dot painted on - in a small city! 

Ek alag soch

'Progress' is a strange creature. Mother-in-laws do not mind daughter-in-laws taking guitar lessons or choosing to have only one child (a daughter). But, they insist that the bahus wear only saris while the latter much prefer to switch to salwar-kameez - but accept silently.

Meanwhile, these small cities are on the radar of all consumer marketers. But does the junta here think and behave like Mumbai or Delhi? Not yet.

Joints like Dominos and Pizza Hut set up shops... and subsequently shut down. "Sau rupaye ka pizza kaun lega?" reason the locals. Ditto with the Lee-Levis variety of outlets which they say, hardly any customers patronise. The unbranded options give them more bang for the buck and offer acceptable quality/variety. 

That ain't good news for all the malls and multiplexes dying and vying to throw open their doors in these cities. But perhaps housed in a mall - with a concentrated 'feel-good' ambience - the same brands may have better luck. And hopefully sales. 

As of now, the residents are quite kicked with the local 'Vishal Megamart' (a chain which offers 'Fashion Street' kind of clothing in a/c environs). For now, 'value' scores over 'snob value'. But values can, and do, change over time.

What is 'value' anyways?

Consumers are complex creatures. That's evident from the consumerism practiced in India. A battered and seldom-used semi-automatic washing machine stands in one corner. The television is an ancient model of BPL and there's no cable connection. "Bachchon ki padhaai affect ho jayegi", is one reason. 350 bucks a month is too much to shell out - is the other.

However, the same household has a computer, with a broadband internet connection. Why? "Bachchon ki padhaai ke liye zaroori hai". Even though they aren't planning to take up 'hi-fi' careers, an investment in a computer is seen as 'worth it'.

And now, mamaji's and chachaji's want to buy a laptop. "Kaun sa brand achcha rahega?" they ask. I wonder why they need one. The answer is surprising but simple: dhande ke liye.

You see, most often these ji's are into 'investment advising' and 'stock broking' options (Yes, stock and investment has caught up with the fancies of rural India leave alone small cities.) and they have a loyal clientele base, there's a whole lot of competition now from new players. The likes of Citibank, HDFC and HSBC have set up small shops and their army of young, locally recruited MBA’s are on the prowl. 

These MBAs wear suits and ties and make jazzy presentations on laptops "Impression jamaane ke liye".
 

What the Citi’s and HDFC’s can't do is offer the 'personalised' service many clients require. For example, there are ladies who will specifically ask jijaji to come to their homes after their husbands have left for work - they wish to make certain 'private investments'.

Yup, these housewives want to make FDs or post-office savings - of money received from the maaika, or quietly salted away from the household budget. Like many other clients, these women use our address to receive their official correspondence. "Hamare ghar mein roz ke itne courier aate hain ki sab delivery waalon se acchi khaasi jaan pehchaan ho jaati hai," say these ladies dryly. The perils of 'customer relationship management'!

The future

And yet, the picture I have painted so far does not tell the complete story. Although still small and not very visible, many 'small new cities' are coming up. These new cities consist of nuclear families, multi storeyed apartments, women clad in Babli kurtas and an emerging professional class. They house a 'multispeciality hospital' and 'IIM preparation coaching centres'. Of course, IIM's are only a technical part - physically they are many kms outside and mentally, a completely different world.

But there are MBA schools like 'Prestige'and 'IMS' which have cropped up practically everywhere, and by the city standards, are decent. The students may not be CAT-level but speak fairly good English and don't look all that different from college kids in Delhi or Mumbai. They also have more 'freedom'. The difference thus: "On Valentine's Day, students even auction roses...". Boys have plenty of friends who are girls - but no girlfriends. And, that's a conscious choice. Shaadi to arranged hi karni hai, they reason. So, bekaar ke lafdon mein kyun padna? 

When these generations get settled or married outside their shells and locate to a Metro they get so defensive about being from small towns. Meanwhile these small towns don't offer women that much choice. The problem in a lot of small towns is that women can't do what they want to because they or their families fear "ki log kya kahenge?" The anonymity and fast pace of life of a metro on the other hand offers that freedom. Often in many baniya families a daughter in law isn't given a choice in terms of her attire, more so in small towns. Though the laid back pace of life and relative safety are advantages that small towns do offer. But at the same time, a lot of small town people often lament about the fast pace of life, lack of safety and coldness and insenstivity of a big city as well...

But on the contrary a small town has these goodies which metro's can't boast of :-

1.) Childhood Days

2.) Grandparents Stories

3.) Media/ Newspaper

About the food

1.) "Poha with Sev"

2.) "French Toast"

3.) "Mutka Kulfi"

What I think needs to be promoted in these cities is :

- Unbaised Education. Good Educational Infrastructure.

- Culture/Heritage Marketing.

- Irradication of Fundamentalist/Orthodox Forces.

- Metropolitan status to be granted.

- Perservance Of Heritage.

- Aforestation to Restore Greenery

- Improvement & Standarisation ( Planned ) Infrstructure, more of townships than some isolated multi    storey apartments.

India is a lot more than most would know it staying in the metros.

The Actual reasons why these small cities remain small

 At heart, these cities don't want to be a "Chota Sheher", but there are several factors which have prevented it from growing. Here are some of them : 

1. Lack of Infrastructure: Take a one hour drive through the various roads and you would find the answer. For any manufacturing unit, the basic requirements are Water / Electricity / Proper transportation. Do these cities provide any of them ? The problem is at the State Govt. Level as well as local admin. level.

Ten years back, the government used to take pride in calling Pithampur as the "Detroit of India". But Pithampur has now reduced to a troubled industrial area with several sick units struggling to survive. They are now arranging their own power and water, and just hoping for the roads to improve (which has not happened in the past 25 years).

These cities have a huge resource pool of Engineers / Post graduates. Just go to the top 10 software companies and Banks / Financial institutions in India, and you would see hundreds of these guys working there. But the same companies cannot think of opening a development center or an office at the places from where these guys come. Reason: Power ?? Communication ?? I cannot imagine how they can survive with power cuts / Network failures etc. Most of the companies have identified these cities as a potential spot for expansion, but it is too big a risk for them. Which company would like to risk an investment of multiple crores ? The cities can provide a descent stength of employees to Call centres and other back-office operation firms. But are the firms comfortable with the idea of venturing into a city where they would lose connectivity every hour.. where there is no power for their AC's / Network servers and other devices.

I suppose the residents have accepted bad roads as a way of life. Narrow roads full of potholes and dust are a trademark of the city. Go out on the streets at dusk and see the level of dust pollution. See the thick mass of dust hanging in the air.

Then we have train lines which are connected on Broad guage to just one side... Because the government never had enough budget to lay a Broad guage railway line through out the country. Imagine the advantages if we could connect all the cities to a common line.

2. An Inefficient and Corrupt Local administration : The local administration probably does nothing. Go to the Municipal corporation / PWD or any other government office during the day and you would know why these cities are in such a pathetic state. Why can't these cities have government run public transport ? Why are we left to the mercy of the "Nagar Sevas" whom people call "Yamdoot".In an attempt to pick passengers,these "yamdoots" surely have created an impressive track record of killing people on streets. 

The concept of town planning just doesn't exist. One can be shocked to see new roads with a width of 20 feet being laid in new colonies. Would these be able to take the load of traffic after 20 or 50 years? Some cities are also coming up with the concept of flyovers which are not less than "puliyas" and then again to congest that they link it up with cross bridges. Then what's the point? Compare this to 17 flyovers in Mumbai (in 1 year) and dozens of them in Hyderabad, and you would have a clear picture of the how efficient is our administration . There is complete lacking of a "vision" how a city should be.

New complexes are growing like mushrooms, and the Municipal Corp approves their designs without even considering the most important factor : Parking space ! Huge complexes and dozens more are just a few prominent examples. I really wonder what the Town planners do. I've seen Multi Storeys being constructed in plots of 30' X 40'. This is ridiculous !

The Private colonisers are causing havoc by illegal constructions. Suprisingly none of this is ever noticed by the administration. The local police also leaves a lot to be desired. Especially in the matters of Traffic regulation. It seems that the policemen lack a basic sense of duty and are happy to sit on the chairs and see people breaking traffic laws. Lane cutting, driving in the wrong lane (or mostly on the wrong side altogether) are common everywhere.

3. Ignorant (and complacent!) population: The people lack a basic sense of civic sense, responsibility and self regulation. I'm amused to see how they take pride in breaking traffic laws, encroaching on roads, parking illegally, and destroying public parks. The "chalta hai" attitude is the killer. They'll collect all the trash from home, and happily throw it on the street without giving a second thought. Probably lack of good education is the biggest factor! 

4. Politics: Other states of the country are not lagging far behind UP and Bihar. We can also boast of Criminal politicians. Hurray! Track down any illegal business / construction and it invariably belongs to one of these politicians or their relatives. The administration then decides to ignore them, and they just go on unquestioned and with complete disregard to any regulations. Land-Mafia is one of the favorite businesses of these gentlemen.

Though these factors might not seem closely related, but the cumulative effect is BIG. Acting together, they are chocking the country suffocating the honest, educated citizen. As long as the citizens are not aware of their rights, duties and responsibilities, it is tough for these cities to become any better. The "Chalta hai", "aisa hi hai" attitude must go. I just hope a positive change happens, else all the "bunties" and "bublies" would ultimately leave these cities and move on to places where they can find a job and to lead a better life.. 

Every culture has its own traditions and pros and cons but so does being mindlessly modern or western. The current western "pop" culture is unsustainable, and it deteriorates pretty fast into being "unhuman". 

Whereas, we have been sustaining our culture for a very long time, though, not without problems.

Woh Dilli ki dopaharein.
Woh loo ki chalti leherein.
Woh 2 rupiye ki double-roti.
Woh dukaanein chhoti chhoti.
Woh nange paaon nikalna.
Woh garm zameen ka jalna.
socha tha kho na jaaye...
mera sheher bahot yaad aaye...
mera sheher bahot yaad aaye....

It is a generation trying to adopt western culture at the same time holding back their Indian values.

1) In most "bada shehars" you have an old city which at its soul remains the "chota shehar" be it Mumbai, Delhi, Pune or Chandigarh. In most of them they have an aggressively growing "bada shehar" and a cutely preserved "chotta shehar" separated by a quintessential mark of progress an over bridge above the railway line that passes through the heart of the city.

2) In every bada shehar the malls and multiplexes run because of the so called "modern face" of the city. 

3) Though less visible and active only in specific spaces - the city has a much larger "metro like" diaspora then what you believe. The explosion of malls/multiplexes just helps them be more visible and hence expand faster.

4) There is another definition to the "bada shehar" - Liberal society's ugly face - increased sex related crimes and flesh trade - both of which also thrive. Recently, NDTV had done a story on how college girls living in hostels find it easy to make money by going on a weekend trip with friendly "customers". As for crime - just read through the major dailies and you would know that there is a thriving "bhai" culture of extortions, kidnapping and suparis.

A small town is where people are not yet perpetually bored, where chaps play cricket on the local maidan instead of roaming around on bikes, where the local katta has not been replaced by the pool club, where “ganne ka ras” is still available on street corners, where people are not afraid of strangers and where the entire mohalla turns up to welcome newcomers and celebrate homecomings. 

But 85% of India is still 'traditional' that way. The people who live at a place more or less make its culture. Those who inhabit it coming from outside have to follow suit and fit into the frame. Beyond a certain level, population, infrastructure etc don't really matter. What really matters is the attitude of the citizens towards their own city. A 'chhota sheher' would be 'chhota' if a significant proportion of its young population would be looking to move out from it to a bigger city, for reasons which are not solely employment-related. 

Conversely, a big city is one in which, if employment is not a factor, the population would stay on. Which is why Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Pune and Calcutta are equals in the big city league. Most people from these cities would never move if they got the jobs they like. Even when their jobs force them to move, they keep making efforts to go back to their beloved home towns. What factors other than employment would make someone shift their base? Social life, safety, entertainment options, schools and colleges for kids, family, and certain "x factor" where you just love a city. In a nutshell, a big city is a place where people aspire to settle down, buy houses, bring up their kids and maybe grow old, all the while, letting their career flourish.

It remains to be seen how long young people who still form the majority - continue to think this way. Until then, 'small town' status will remain safe. And so will the sale of bindis!