Delhi – the national capital territory, a cosmopolitan city where people from all over India travel to settle down, some in search of livelihood while others in hope of better education and this city embraces them all with its acceptance. It has a diversity in all spheres- be its culture, color, race and in fact income levels as well. The last category is worth paying attention because more than half of Delhi comprises of Middle class.
The Middle Class- the class of people which are neither rich nor poor, supposedly caught somewhere in between which is quite ironical in India’s aspect. (In a country quite as large as India, how can anyone identify anything that actually counts as being in the “middle”.) A city that provides all the facilities comes with its own expenses, and a middle class family which has somehow combated all the hindrances to be a part of this city, strives everyday for survival.
The latest instance was “Delhi’s Hunger Games” – the nursery admissions of children. Schools were demanding an admission fee with donation for a toddler, which was actually far more than the amount required to have a graduation degree from a decent college in India! Wow! The middle class parents who have been struggling to pay the EMI of their newly bought house received another investment.
Don’t you think that there must be a reason for being pestered and nagged continuously for not switching of the lights and fans at home or despite of having two ACs adjusting the entire family in a single room at night? Yes there is! Only a middle class mother understands the struggle of living in Delhi with such high electricity and water charges. And the happiness and joy received by saving even a ten rupee note by walking down the road instead of taking a rickshaw even under the blazing sun.
But leaving everything aside, the middle class has an undue advantage over others. They have an ability to mould themselves according to circumstances; they have an alternative solution to everything. Let’s see how.
Their situation is very different even while choosing the mode of transport to go to office. Neither can they afford to have an Audi nor can they use a cycle everyday (What will neighbors think?), so the only cheap an affordable car for them is an Alto. But, who can travel by a car everyday with such throat cutting petrol prices. So they plan accordingly, using the car thrice and rest of the trips using a public transport. Fair enough! With this neither can anyone question them upon their living standards nor do they have to suffer the misery of soaring prices.
But as I am concluding this, I realize that the topic should have been “The Middle Class for Delhi” instead of “Delhi for the Middle Class” because it is not Delhi that has offered the middle class people something, in fact it is the middle class that has offered Delhi a lot of things. Its middle class population might be considered as the source of whatever breathable air the city has, or water or electricity that is available. After all a middle class family is the biggest saver in the entire city. But with such deteriorating condition very soon “the middle class will be the new poor”.
By, Mahima Khurana, Writer – DU Times
