Dateline Chandigarh

But this spirit of enterprise, willingness to endure hardship and unfailing zeal to better their lot does not extend to the state8217;s upper middle class. They form a pathetic contrast to their poorer counterparts. With most owning properties which yield large incomes, the younger generation of this landed gentry are afflicted by acurious malady 8212; you could call it quot;don8217;t wish to work-itis.quot; Young able-bodied scions of genteel families are content to lead laid-back, rather dissolute lives, oscillating between various clubs, booze parties and wedding and bhog ceremonies.

Perhaps that is why witty acronyms have been coined in Chandigarh, where these young richies possess sprawling bungalows GAL and MBA. The first stands for Gentlemen at Large and the other turns the conventional qualification on its head- it8217;s nothing more glorified than Marriage and Bhog Attendant. Strangely, the spirit of competition and the urge to carve out a new empire which characterise youth in the rest of the country have skimmed over most of the young affluents here. Their parents have oodles of cash, the interest from properties is substantial, so as they declare with a shrug, quot;I don8217;t need to work.quot;

This attitude is seemingly ingrained in them from early childhood itself. They are not encouraged to lift a finger or mix with those from lower socialstrata. Instead, they are cocooned in a warm world of expensive toys and servile ayahs. Around them, all they hear are animated discussions about inherited wealth and property. Ever so often they are told how many acres they will get when they grow up. And when these young inheritors are despatched to be groomed in elite boarding schools, they carry the same baggage there. Studies are not really considered important because, as the girls shrug, quot;We8217;re going to be married off, after allquot; to husbands who have a lot of property. The boys shrug carelessly, quot;Our father has a lot of land and money.quot; So why slog it out? Why indeed?

Not surprisingly, academic standards at Punjabi8217;s favourite boarding school 8212; Lawrence School, Sanawar, where most of these worthies are sent 8212; have fallen abysmally. Worried mothers converge at kitty parties and denounce the school for their children8217;s falling grades. Or talk about the expensive demands their children are making.

There is no self-introspection, no recognition ofwhere they have gone wrong in bringing up their now grown-up children, tall adults sans sensitivity or responsibility. Nurtured in an environment where property, clothes and jewellery form the only topics of discussion, where money satisfies every whim and desire, their intellect too remains stunted. They have absorbed parental attitudes after all.

Later, for this lot, life becomes one big booze party in which wives participate and get as sozzled as their spouses. And the latest car to hit the market is bought as soon as it is advertised. But in a world where technology is making rapid advances and competition is becoming almost murderous, it is amazing how none of it has penetrated into this charmed circle. Perhaps in the new millennium the realisation may dawn that one day the party will be over.