For as long as I can remember, Bombay has been admired for its fast and efficient local trains. Out-of-town visitors are struck by the speed and efficiency of the suburban train network.
But, sadly, those who live and work in the city - and can afford to do so - are slowly shifting to the roads. Not to buses, but their own cars.
Why? Because although no one enjoys Bombay road traffic, doing so in the air conditioned comfort of your own car, tuned to your favorite FM station is the only alternative you have. Even the so-called 'first class' is now not much better than cattle class.
So, why haven't the railways upgraded their coaches? For the last 10 years we've been hearing of the introduction of a/c coaches (there's an announcement to that effect once again). But in the 'interest of the common man' (who is hanging on for dear life from the ordinary compartments) things never move forward.
Class apart
Anyone who has taken a ride on the Delhi metro will see what taking care of the interest of the common man really means. A global-standard metro service is available to all the city's residents. Have been through both these trains so there's depth in what i say about both of these.
A ticket from Rohini to Kashmere Gate (a dozen stops away) costs a mere Rs 12! (A short distance first class ticket on our comparatively khatara Mumbai local is Rs 50).
Delhi metro is already fairly popular. Since the launch of the stretch connecting Connaught Place has started, its use has skyrocketed. In the longer run, with Gurgaon and Noida connected more and more car owners will be tempted to switch over.
The Mumbai local, in contrast, is driving people in the opposite direction. Of course, 18 year olds don't drive to college - in Mumbai. At that stage of life, public transport rules.
But a few short years later, into your second or third job, you take a car loan. Initially, it's to use only on weekends. Then, you take it to work occassionally. By and by, you get addicted to the comfort. The same locals which you swore by earlier is too squishy and sweaty to travel by.
Similarly, once you 'move' even further up in life, you employ a driver. Then, the task of driving to work on days when the fellow is on leave becomes a pain.
Aaj kal aur kal
Man is a creature of habit and once he acquires a new one it's hard to shake off. Things which were an accepted part of life at 20 feel like hardships at 30!
That's because while there may have been less creature comforts at 20, you had so many intangible assets at the time. The long and continuous company of friends. The freedom that comes with student life. The hope of great things to come.
By 30, you may technically be a 'youth' but your time is not your own. Most of it is mortgaged to your employer.In return, you may be paid a good deal of money. This money then is used to buy back some time. And add some layers of comfort.
Because in our heads we may remain young for many more years - even decades - than previous generations. But, the hectic lifestyles we lead quickly start taking a toll on our bodies.
Bottomline: When travelling like animals in local trains is no longer an acceptable standard in public life, neither will living in a 1 room shanty or shitting on tracks. That's when we can start thinking of becoming a Shanghai or a Singapore.
Recent reports suggest that work on a metro train service connecting Ghatkopar and Versova/ Colaba and Charkop is about to begin.
About time - definitely!
Friday, September 24, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Train of thought
I write this post from Peaceful Puducherry - the land of the French in India right from pre-independence days till date.It is a 48 hour train journey from Udaipur (my home town) and whichever way I look at it, that's 48 hours too many. So I fly to Ahmedabad from Madras - and even though the airfares available are cheaper now - it ends up more than twice as expensive as 2nd a/c.
That wasn't how it was supposed to be - budget airlines were supposed to make flying just a little more expensive than "luxury" train fare. Leave aside Air Deccan's few cheap tickets (which, like rail must be booked months in advance).
Flying within India remains an expensive proposition - and yet more of us are doing it today - not just for business, but pleasure and in fulfillment of social obligations.
Why fly
We're doing it because time is money. And time spent in trains watching the scenery go by is not just boring but wasteful.
But, more fundamentally, there is a new breed of Indians who just can't stand personal discomfort. Not to say that flying is absolutely stress-free - it's not, especially given the state of our airports. But the maximum you'll spend trapped with an irritating co-passenger is 2 hours.
Railways are a different story. You are trapped in a compartment with a medley of people. If you're travelling alone you'll invariably have to 'adjust' and exchange seats so Bablu and family can all sit together. If you don't get there early you'll have to wage war to get suitcase space.
There are those who eat non-stop and those who talk non-stop (even after lights go off). Then there are kids who wail and uncles who snore. And of course using the loo in the morning...
The scene I am describing is of the Indian Railways with hordes jumping in without reservation along the way.
Yet, I find in the last one year since I took the Great Mental Leap ('what the heck, let's fly') it's become increasingly difficult to contemplate a long distance train journey.
Attitude Shift
The train --> plane shift is increasingly being made by customers in search of 'fluxury' or functional luxury. Which is different from those who buy something because it confers them 'status'.
I happily wear a cheap though funky plastic watch - not a Tag or Esprit - because a watch is a watch is a watch. The 300 buck one tells time as well as the 10,000 one - and you can throw it away and get a new one every 6 months.
Similarly, a 'fluxury' seeking customer will upgrade his or her mobile phone in search of certain features - like a Blackberry or PDA and not just for its 'flaunt' status - or cool looks.
I could be wrong, but it seems like much of young India is thinking this way. It's therefore harder to sell on the strength of 'labels' alone in this country.
Young people are happy to wear the cheaper substitute - and without embarassment. You see this particularly in the case of say, jeans. Yes, I need to own a couple of well known brand name pairs but beyond that junta shops for specific styles. Most important, if it fits well, it will sell.
The Road Ahead
Getting back to the question of train vs plane, the Railways have enough Indians still clamouring for tickets to miss my custom. And with our large population - will continue to do so.
But assuming the grand plans for more airports - and also better, high speed roads - actually bear fruit... As far as young and upwardly mobile India is concerned - 20 years from now - trans-India railway journeys will be romantic relics of the past.
That wasn't how it was supposed to be - budget airlines were supposed to make flying just a little more expensive than "luxury" train fare. Leave aside Air Deccan's few cheap tickets (which, like rail must be booked months in advance).
Flying within India remains an expensive proposition - and yet more of us are doing it today - not just for business, but pleasure and in fulfillment of social obligations.
Why fly
We're doing it because time is money. And time spent in trains watching the scenery go by is not just boring but wasteful.
But, more fundamentally, there is a new breed of Indians who just can't stand personal discomfort. Not to say that flying is absolutely stress-free - it's not, especially given the state of our airports. But the maximum you'll spend trapped with an irritating co-passenger is 2 hours.
Railways are a different story. You are trapped in a compartment with a medley of people. If you're travelling alone you'll invariably have to 'adjust' and exchange seats so Bablu and family can all sit together. If you don't get there early you'll have to wage war to get suitcase space.
There are those who eat non-stop and those who talk non-stop (even after lights go off). Then there are kids who wail and uncles who snore. And of course using the loo in the morning...
The scene I am describing is of the Indian Railways with hordes jumping in without reservation along the way.
Yet, I find in the last one year since I took the Great Mental Leap ('what the heck, let's fly') it's become increasingly difficult to contemplate a long distance train journey.
Attitude Shift
The train --> plane shift is increasingly being made by customers in search of 'fluxury' or functional luxury. Which is different from those who buy something because it confers them 'status'.
I happily wear a cheap though funky plastic watch - not a Tag or Esprit - because a watch is a watch is a watch. The 300 buck one tells time as well as the 10,000 one - and you can throw it away and get a new one every 6 months.
Similarly, a 'fluxury' seeking customer will upgrade his or her mobile phone in search of certain features - like a Blackberry or PDA and not just for its 'flaunt' status - or cool looks.
I could be wrong, but it seems like much of young India is thinking this way. It's therefore harder to sell on the strength of 'labels' alone in this country.
Young people are happy to wear the cheaper substitute - and without embarassment. You see this particularly in the case of say, jeans. Yes, I need to own a couple of well known brand name pairs but beyond that junta shops for specific styles. Most important, if it fits well, it will sell.
The Road Ahead
Getting back to the question of train vs plane, the Railways have enough Indians still clamouring for tickets to miss my custom. And with our large population - will continue to do so.
But assuming the grand plans for more airports - and also better, high speed roads - actually bear fruit... As far as young and upwardly mobile India is concerned - 20 years from now - trans-India railway journeys will be romantic relics of the past.
Raat baaki
"Indians are sleeping less" - according to a recent cover story in India Today.
A study by AC Nielsen reveals that 46% of Indians sleep less than 6 hours a day. And 64% apparently wake up prior to 7 am - among the highest in the world.
Well, I belong to the 64% group happily. Not as extreme as Ekta Kapoor - she apparently sleeps only after 4 am and that too for just 5 hours. But yes, I do love my nights.
Night is when I get to watch TV/ surf the net/ read in peace. And write, too. It's when I feel a sense of space and freedom in a house - and life - I share with my wife.
The late shift
When I was in school, I remember 10 o'clock was standard bedtime. 11 o'clock was considered LATE. There was an alarm clock- cum-radio next to my bed and sometimes I'd lie awake till 11.30 - till Vividh Bharati's last transmission - and feel quite cool.
Today, kids are routinely awake till 11 pm in many Indian homes. Parents come home late from work, for one. If you leave at 8 am and return at 9 pm - when will your child see you at all, if he sleeps by old English timings?
Then there's 24 hour TV - you stay awake to watch inane movies or just randomly channel surf. For young people, late night is about the only time the remote is in their independent possession. Because prime time means saas bahu serials for moms and NDTV/ CNBC for dads. And not many homes - yet - have two TVs.
If you're the kind who now works for a living, late night TV viewing is kind of like unwinding. You hope - in those 100 channels - something will seduce you, reduce the mental exhaustion of the day gone by.
Ditto for net-surfing.
Nights are for man-made pleasures like clubbing while early mornings are for natural ones like walks in parks. You may not be the partying type, but if you're a young person - chances are you prefer the buzz of the night.
This, of course, may not be a matter of choice for many of the kids who are in an engineering or MBA hostels where nobody sleeps before 2 am.
Bottomline: There is a mysterious, somewhat kinky pleasure to staying up late. Ask yourself, why did India awake to light and freedom at the stroke of the midnight hour... Not 6 am?
A study by AC Nielsen reveals that 46% of Indians sleep less than 6 hours a day. And 64% apparently wake up prior to 7 am - among the highest in the world.
Well, I belong to the 64% group happily. Not as extreme as Ekta Kapoor - she apparently sleeps only after 4 am and that too for just 5 hours. But yes, I do love my nights.
Night is when I get to watch TV/ surf the net/ read in peace. And write, too. It's when I feel a sense of space and freedom in a house - and life - I share with my wife.
The late shift
When I was in school, I remember 10 o'clock was standard bedtime. 11 o'clock was considered LATE. There was an alarm clock- cum-radio next to my bed and sometimes I'd lie awake till 11.30 - till Vividh Bharati's last transmission - and feel quite cool.
Today, kids are routinely awake till 11 pm in many Indian homes. Parents come home late from work, for one. If you leave at 8 am and return at 9 pm - when will your child see you at all, if he sleeps by old English timings?
Then there's 24 hour TV - you stay awake to watch inane movies or just randomly channel surf. For young people, late night is about the only time the remote is in their independent possession. Because prime time means saas bahu serials for moms and NDTV/ CNBC for dads. And not many homes - yet - have two TVs.
If you're the kind who now works for a living, late night TV viewing is kind of like unwinding. You hope - in those 100 channels - something will seduce you, reduce the mental exhaustion of the day gone by.
Ditto for net-surfing.
Nights are for man-made pleasures like clubbing while early mornings are for natural ones like walks in parks. You may not be the partying type, but if you're a young person - chances are you prefer the buzz of the night.
This, of course, may not be a matter of choice for many of the kids who are in an engineering or MBA hostels where nobody sleeps before 2 am.
Bottomline: There is a mysterious, somewhat kinky pleasure to staying up late. Ask yourself, why did India awake to light and freedom at the stroke of the midnight hour... Not 6 am?
Porn Free
Did you know that 90% of cybercafe clients visit porn sites.
And, that 50% of them are minors?
That's what the Asian Age reported, quoting a survey conducted by media consultant N Ravindran which covered 65 cybercafes in Mumbai.
"Of the 350 students we interviewed, most were students between the age of 9-14."
Apparently the younger kids come in groups while those above 15 prefer to watch porn by themselves. Cybercafe owners turn a blind eye because - well, it's good business!
So much for closure of dance bars.
Girls just don't wanna...
An important point to note is that "only a handful of girls watch porn, compared to boys".
I'm not surprised, because the 'blue film' industry is primarily geared towards men.
I guess I'm too old to be disgusted... just puzzled that people (read men) will pay money (more than once) to watch this freakshow.
Strangely enough, a quote from staid old 'Readers Digest' I read last time hits the nail on the head.
Says Dr Phil (of Oprah fame): "Men fall in love with their eyes. Women fall in love with their ears." The same, I think, is true of lust!
And, that 50% of them are minors?
That's what the Asian Age reported, quoting a survey conducted by media consultant N Ravindran which covered 65 cybercafes in Mumbai.
"Of the 350 students we interviewed, most were students between the age of 9-14."
Apparently the younger kids come in groups while those above 15 prefer to watch porn by themselves. Cybercafe owners turn a blind eye because - well, it's good business!
So much for closure of dance bars.
Girls just don't wanna...
An important point to note is that "only a handful of girls watch porn, compared to boys".
I'm not surprised, because the 'blue film' industry is primarily geared towards men.
I guess I'm too old to be disgusted... just puzzled that people (read men) will pay money (more than once) to watch this freakshow.
Strangely enough, a quote from staid old 'Readers Digest' I read last time hits the nail on the head.
Says Dr Phil (of Oprah fame): "Men fall in love with their eyes. Women fall in love with their ears." The same, I think, is true of lust!
The IIT Bubble
"An academic institution should not be known just for its undergraduates. It should be known for the kind of knowledge base it creates, the quality of research that it does. We need to really pull up our socks otherwise it will be not long before the IIT bubble bursts."
This is what S G Dhande, director, IIT Kanpur had to say in an interview to Tehelka, the people's paper (issue dt Apr 09). He couldn't have put it better.
Although I don't think the 'bubble will burst' - because the goodwill its graduates have earned over the last 4 decades is formidable - certainly IITs have a long way to go. IITians who go to MIT for PG courses excel as individuals but IIT as an institution is nowhere near an MIT in terms of original research.
Dhande believes the spark of creativity and originality of thinking needed for top quality research is missing because IITians are given a completely unidimensional education.
"Knowledge is increasingly becoming inter-disciplinary... Biology is the flavour of the century. We need to delve into all these areas even though we call ourselves a technology institute".
The director relates the story of a faculty member at IIT asking the first year students which novel they had read in the past one year.
There was a stunned silence.
"Where is the time to read novels?" they asked.
Dhande's answer is to start exposing students to design and art, as well as set up a TV studio on campus, a community based FM radio station and start a journalism club. Sounds like fun - with official sanction.
Curiously, in August 2004, IIT Bombay witnessed a sudden cancellation of all cultural and sports activities. The Performing Arts festival and Socials (a theater event) were scaled down to reduce the number of man hours spent on them... The Dean expressed his concern over the the new bodies and clubs cropping up and demanded a 'vision' behind all these activities".
I don't know what the situation is right now, but obviously there is difference of opinion among the powers-that-be in the IIT family!
Jo JEEta wahi...
According to tehelka, at a March 5 meeting of the standing commitee of the IIT council, it was agreed that the present level of JEE is so high that students have to undergo strenuous coaching - which can be as long as 4 years. A proposal to change the examinations pattern is being considered.
Most likely, JEE will revert to from the current 2 stage process which was introduced a few years ago, to one examination from 2006-7. It was also felt that the exam should be 'more simple' and based on class 12 syllabus.
Well and good. However this bit is disturbing: "Performance in the Board exams may be used as criteria for determining eligibility."
Would this mean only those who score above 85 or 90% can attempt JEE? When will they give the exam - after their results are out?
No doubt the current situation sucks. A single coaching institute - Bansal classes in Kota - sent 827 students to IIT (I kid you not - that was their success rate in the year 2004).
Getting into Bansal (which calls itself 'modern gurukul for IIT JEE) itself has become so tough that someone will need to start a coaching class for that. Maybe there already is one?
But determining eligibility via Board Exams - that can't be the answer. Maybe the JEE should be based more along the lines of the SAT - where basic aptitude/ IQ is measured. But of course in colleges abroad the SAT is used along with subjective criteria like essays, recommendations and student's past academic and extra curricular record.
Which is unlikely to happen here.
Bottomline: At least serious thought is being paid to these issues - even if there is no magic solution. Which is better than IITs just sitting back and feeling complacent about being 'world class'.
Bonus: If IIT truly gets multi-disciplinary, they may - someday- transcend the image ingrained in the public mind - that of the Ultimate Nerd!
This is what S G Dhande, director, IIT Kanpur had to say in an interview to Tehelka, the people's paper (issue dt Apr 09). He couldn't have put it better.
Although I don't think the 'bubble will burst' - because the goodwill its graduates have earned over the last 4 decades is formidable - certainly IITs have a long way to go. IITians who go to MIT for PG courses excel as individuals but IIT as an institution is nowhere near an MIT in terms of original research.
Dhande believes the spark of creativity and originality of thinking needed for top quality research is missing because IITians are given a completely unidimensional education.
"Knowledge is increasingly becoming inter-disciplinary... Biology is the flavour of the century. We need to delve into all these areas even though we call ourselves a technology institute".
The director relates the story of a faculty member at IIT asking the first year students which novel they had read in the past one year.
There was a stunned silence.
"Where is the time to read novels?" they asked.
Dhande's answer is to start exposing students to design and art, as well as set up a TV studio on campus, a community based FM radio station and start a journalism club. Sounds like fun - with official sanction.
Curiously, in August 2004, IIT Bombay witnessed a sudden cancellation of all cultural and sports activities. The Performing Arts festival and Socials (a theater event) were scaled down to reduce the number of man hours spent on them... The Dean expressed his concern over the the new bodies and clubs cropping up and demanded a 'vision' behind all these activities".
I don't know what the situation is right now, but obviously there is difference of opinion among the powers-that-be in the IIT family!
Jo JEEta wahi...
According to tehelka, at a March 5 meeting of the standing commitee of the IIT council, it was agreed that the present level of JEE is so high that students have to undergo strenuous coaching - which can be as long as 4 years. A proposal to change the examinations pattern is being considered.
Most likely, JEE will revert to from the current 2 stage process which was introduced a few years ago, to one examination from 2006-7. It was also felt that the exam should be 'more simple' and based on class 12 syllabus.
Well and good. However this bit is disturbing: "Performance in the Board exams may be used as criteria for determining eligibility."
Would this mean only those who score above 85 or 90% can attempt JEE? When will they give the exam - after their results are out?
No doubt the current situation sucks. A single coaching institute - Bansal classes in Kota - sent 827 students to IIT (I kid you not - that was their success rate in the year 2004).
Getting into Bansal (which calls itself 'modern gurukul for IIT JEE) itself has become so tough that someone will need to start a coaching class for that. Maybe there already is one?
But determining eligibility via Board Exams - that can't be the answer. Maybe the JEE should be based more along the lines of the SAT - where basic aptitude/ IQ is measured. But of course in colleges abroad the SAT is used along with subjective criteria like essays, recommendations and student's past academic and extra curricular record.
Which is unlikely to happen here.
Bottomline: At least serious thought is being paid to these issues - even if there is no magic solution. Which is better than IITs just sitting back and feeling complacent about being 'world class'.
Bonus: If IIT truly gets multi-disciplinary, they may - someday- transcend the image ingrained in the public mind - that of the Ultimate Nerd!
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Sciontology II
If your dad owned a major Indian company, would you still travel by a local bus to college? Well, Ranbaxy heirs Malvinder and Shivinder Singh did just that. Even when U special buses were stoned during the Mandal Commission protests, daddy didn't offer 'take the BMW instead.'
This, and more, was revealed in an interesting conversation with Shobha De on "Power Trip" aired on Sahara One - a channel I would normally not be caught dead watching.
The difference between a 'coat-tailer', as described in my previous post and inheritors who've taken the family legacy forward can be summed up in a single word: 'values'.
Those who had it too easy in life, and too comfortable, are doomed to remain dabblers. Those who were brought up to realise the value of money - despite having so much of it - are programmed to succeed.
'Modesty Blaze'
Take the example of Kumarmanglam Birla. I have, personally, experienced how lightly he wears his family name on his shoulders.
The difference between Kumarmangalam and the son or daughter of a Johnny-come-lately is humility. When you've already arrived you don't have to throw your weight around. Or attract undue attention to yourself. You let your work speak for itself.
On the other hand, there's Yash of 'Yash and Avanti Birla' fame....
Takes all kinds - and hair colours - to make up the coat-tailer universe!
This, and more, was revealed in an interesting conversation with Shobha De on "Power Trip" aired on Sahara One - a channel I would normally not be caught dead watching.
The difference between a 'coat-tailer', as described in my previous post and inheritors who've taken the family legacy forward can be summed up in a single word: 'values'.
Those who had it too easy in life, and too comfortable, are doomed to remain dabblers. Those who were brought up to realise the value of money - despite having so much of it - are programmed to succeed.
'Modesty Blaze'
Take the example of Kumarmanglam Birla. I have, personally, experienced how lightly he wears his family name on his shoulders.
The difference between Kumarmangalam and the son or daughter of a Johnny-come-lately is humility. When you've already arrived you don't have to throw your weight around. Or attract undue attention to yourself. You let your work speak for itself.
On the other hand, there's Yash of 'Yash and Avanti Birla' fame....
Takes all kinds - and hair colours - to make up the coat-tailer universe!
Sciontology
27 year old Zorawar Kalra planned to sell paranthas and rolls from carts at shopping malls. According to Business Today, he got this brainwave after seeing cups of steamed corn selling like hotcakes at the same venue.
So Kalra set up 'The Royal Parantha Company" and sunk in Rs 12 lakh to set up a state-of-the-art central kitchen in Mehrauli, from where he shipped out the paranthas to franchisees in frozen form.
Zorawar's dad is the well known food consultant Jiggs Kalra and he's a graduate of Boston's Bentley Business University. Being an MBA, Kalra ostensibly studied the market situation and thought he had a winning idea. Definitely, I think there is a demand. Success will depend on how well can he execute the supply.
But Kalra is just one example of a new breed of young people. What I call the 'coat-tailers'.
Coat-tailers are the kids of parents who have it all. Statistically they are a small % but very visible in the media. eg Kids of actors, politicians, industrialists and the miscellaneous well-known.
They have had no pressures to perform well academically, or had to put much thought to their careers. Their career is to prepare themselves to inherit the family legacy. There is no shame in this. They are generally educated abroad but aspire to return home, not settle there permanently.
Coat tailers can go thru life doing nothing - there's already a house, car and spending money and Indian parents will support their kids for life. But it's not fashionable to sponge off your parents forever, coat tailers do aspire to make some sort of personal contribution. It's just that they can afford to think longer about what they want, and even fail at a few things.
Characteristics of coat-tailers
Kids of: Celebrities, successful Westernised professionals, Businessmen of standing
Attitude: We've always had the best, because we can afford it.
Parental expectation: Do what you want, what makes you happy. If u need a leg up, I'm around.
Aspiration in Education: Foreign Univ from undergrad level, if not definitely a Foreign MBA.
The ranking of the university is not key - Bentley for example is um, nowehere in the Businessweek top 50 but is still $ 80,000 well spent as far the coat-tailer is concerned. Who needs a placement?
What kids do: Drifting around for some time after education is OK. Eventually they know they will join the family business or profession.
However they do aspire to make a difference in the longer run, do things differently. When that does not happen they feel lack of purpose and meaning in life.
Emerging Trend
Coat tailers whose families are into the more traditional, boring businesses are striking out into more exciting areas eg nightspots, clothing stores, media, something-to-do-with-entertainment etc. These ventures are often aimed at "People Like Us", and modelled on similar concepts seen on foreign trips.
Usually the family will help fund their ideas. The new business may not contribute that much to family bottomline but keeps the young person busy and out of trouble, also may give boost to image.
Bottomline: At the very least, coat-tailers - who bring us fancy new restaurants and convert their boring mill lands into cool malls - make the world a better place for us lesser mortals.
If some of their ventures end up in the red - so be it. Call it adventures in angel investing - where the angel is actually our father, not in heaven, but yon planet earth.
So Kalra set up 'The Royal Parantha Company" and sunk in Rs 12 lakh to set up a state-of-the-art central kitchen in Mehrauli, from where he shipped out the paranthas to franchisees in frozen form.
Zorawar's dad is the well known food consultant Jiggs Kalra and he's a graduate of Boston's Bentley Business University. Being an MBA, Kalra ostensibly studied the market situation and thought he had a winning idea. Definitely, I think there is a demand. Success will depend on how well can he execute the supply.
But Kalra is just one example of a new breed of young people. What I call the 'coat-tailers'.
Coat-tailers are the kids of parents who have it all. Statistically they are a small % but very visible in the media. eg Kids of actors, politicians, industrialists and the miscellaneous well-known.
They have had no pressures to perform well academically, or had to put much thought to their careers. Their career is to prepare themselves to inherit the family legacy. There is no shame in this. They are generally educated abroad but aspire to return home, not settle there permanently.
Coat tailers can go thru life doing nothing - there's already a house, car and spending money and Indian parents will support their kids for life. But it's not fashionable to sponge off your parents forever, coat tailers do aspire to make some sort of personal contribution. It's just that they can afford to think longer about what they want, and even fail at a few things.
Characteristics of coat-tailers
Kids of: Celebrities, successful Westernised professionals, Businessmen of standing
Attitude: We've always had the best, because we can afford it.
Parental expectation: Do what you want, what makes you happy. If u need a leg up, I'm around.
Aspiration in Education: Foreign Univ from undergrad level, if not definitely a Foreign MBA.
The ranking of the university is not key - Bentley for example is um, nowehere in the Businessweek top 50 but is still $ 80,000 well spent as far the coat-tailer is concerned. Who needs a placement?
What kids do: Drifting around for some time after education is OK. Eventually they know they will join the family business or profession.
However they do aspire to make a difference in the longer run, do things differently. When that does not happen they feel lack of purpose and meaning in life.
Emerging Trend
Coat tailers whose families are into the more traditional, boring businesses are striking out into more exciting areas eg nightspots, clothing stores, media, something-to-do-with-entertainment etc. These ventures are often aimed at "People Like Us", and modelled on similar concepts seen on foreign trips.
Usually the family will help fund their ideas. The new business may not contribute that much to family bottomline but keeps the young person busy and out of trouble, also may give boost to image.
Bottomline: At the very least, coat-tailers - who bring us fancy new restaurants and convert their boring mill lands into cool malls - make the world a better place for us lesser mortals.
If some of their ventures end up in the red - so be it. Call it adventures in angel investing - where the angel is actually our father, not in heaven, but yon planet earth.
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