The crown is still ours, but only just

A happening city? Certainly looks like it. And yet. Scratch the surface and the gloss reveals itself to be dangerously thin.

Is Delhi taking over from Mumbai as India’s most happening city? According to a cover story in a recent issue of India Today, the answer is a resounding Yes! If the story is to be believed, Delhi is the new boom town. Among the many attractions of the capital city the magazine lists its emergence as a commercial hub, its continued significance as a political centre, its infrastructure (considered to be superior to other cities, repeated power cuts notwithstanding), the existence of sprawling suburbs, leisure activities (nine golf courses, 50 dance clubs), a cosmopolitan ambience: Punjabis apparently now form just one-fourth of the city’s population. Longtime resident of Mumbai and recent emigre to Delhi, Gurcharan Das is quoted as saying, ‘‘Delhi is the intellectual capital of India.’’ A friend who moved north a year ago is equally enthusiastic about Delhi’s trendiness (‘‘People know what suits them and they dress to the hilt’’).

Really? Accustomed as I have been to Delhi-ites considering themselves residents of Hicksville compared to big, bad, glamorous Mumbai, such confidence seems both unprecedented and surprising. But is it justified? My response would be a bit more ambivalent. And it has nothing to do with the natural partiality of the Mumbaikar. To start with, Delhi because of its political eminence has always had an edge over other parts of the country. Institutions of education, research, policy-making, culture, etc. flourish in Delhi, giving it a cerebral texture that has all but disappeared in Mumbai. Internationally too, it is far better connected than any other city. Even so, for years it was perceived both by outsiders as well as itself as a stodgy, political city where what you did depended on who you knew. Not any longer. The change actually became visible a few years ago with the emergence of a stream of hotshot fashion designers and the establishment of the Hauz Khas village. Imagine a whole complex of trendy restaurants and boutiques a stone’s throw away from a historic monument — a more blatant example of Western chic would have been hard to find. Then came the cineplexes with their popcorn and pizza parlours and suddenly, Delhi seemed the hot place to be.

The notion has survived. Delhi has always had its share of money (and more) but it has probably never been on display as it is these days. Sprawling farmhouses with fountains, tennis courts and expensive art on the walls draw a stream of Toyotas, Peugeots and Mercs to the outskirts of the city on weekends. There has been a sudden explosion in swanky nightclubs and trendy new restaurants serving Japanese, Thai and fusion food. The old conservatism is out and spunky young teenagers can be seen everywhere in the latest fashions discussing issues like dating in newspaper interviews. Hauz Khas may be passe but its place has been taken by the upscale and genteel Santushti complex.

A happening city? Certainly looks like it. And yet. Scratch the surface and the gloss reveals itself to be dangerously thin. The first problem that strikes one is the prevailing sense of lawlessness. The air is thick with smog. Cars and buses zigzag through roads with heart-lurching panache. Buildings acquire new floors without adequate parking space below. The sense of lawlessness pervades the streets. The police roadblocks that used to dot the roads have disappeared, but the city seems far from safe. At night entire neighbourhoods get locked in by massive gates. At Djinn’s, the hip nightclub at the Hyatt, patrons are searched for arms — a fallout of the Jessica Lal case. Women are freer than they were and yet, unless you own a car, you can’t get very far. Public transport is still a nightmare and vast stretches of streets are deserted at any time through the day. The point of all this is that exciting though it may be, Delhi’s hipness is still skin deep. In a city where rules are not respected and freedom is sorely restricted happening can only be relative. So, as far as my vote is concerned, Mumbai still wears the crown. But only just.

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