in many ways the city is still a say 70-80% of the city is under construction; there's no escape of the dust, noise, and road bloackage created by the boom of office and apartment buildings.The city in many ways lacks culture; the exact words of my Indian work colleagues were:"...there's nothing to do around here in Gurgaon except for going to one of the malls. And they all really look the same."
Only 20-30 minutes outside of the capital of India, Gurgaon, in many ways represents to me a perfect example of what Thomas L. Friedman examined in his book, The Lexus and the Olive Tree. According to Friedman, the world is currently facing two struggles: the drive for prosperity and development facilitated through globalization, symbolized by the Lexus, and the communal desire to hold on to and retain cultural identity and traditions, symbolized by the olive tree. This idea of the constant struggle of our increasingly globalized world is so apparent in Gurgaon - a city where the demand for new red brick high rise buildings to accommodate the outsourcing needs of multi-national corporations doesn't seem to cease or slow down; where new billboard-plastered shopping malls appear out of nowhere everyday to meet the increasing demands of the Sari-wearing young professionals with now extra disposable income to spend.
Every morning on my way into work, I find myself fascinated by the different scenes I find my self surrounded by: there are rikshaws, packs of cows, people in business casual attire with their laptop messenger bags, company executives and western expats in the backseat of shiny white 'Tourist'-marked cars reading the India Times, the street vendors offering quick bites on the-go, street-side barbers, and the traffic jam. I feel like I'm presented with that amazingly mind-boggling experience every morning.I can't help but think about Friedman's two challenges; the demand for young educated women in this emerging economic superpower has pushed the community to abandon some of its most traditional customs. Young women now live away from home for work, sometimes by themselves, sometimes with other young women. Some of these women are yet the same women that follow some of the most traditional Indian customs, such as arranged marriages and the dowry system.
The contrast of tradition and globalization is so apparent in every moment of everyday life here...
1 comment:
As promised, I waited until the very end of my day to engage in this cultural dessert. I would beg to say that every culture has always felt this "Lexus & the Olive Tree" concept. Think of the introduction of the automobile into late 19th century societies. The industrial revolution in agricultural Europe. The wheel to our Darwinian ancestors. This hodgepodge of seemingly clashing cultures permeates history. But that too makes it exciting. Now, chew on this thought. Often times, economic success means cultural change. Often, one sacrifices traditional values for economic success because, often, many of those values are those that have held a country back. That does not always have to be the case. What you should examine in Gurgaon is how locals infuse its values into Cyber City rather than how Cyber City infuses itself on their values. I believe the former will enable healthier and more holistic growth than the latter. It is just something to consider.
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