AJ, a middleclass 28-year old man grew up in the post-1993 liberalised era. When he landed his first job, India had already entered the era of low-cost airplanes. AJ — who is earning a sum, his parents couldn’t dream of when they were his age — would fly rather than take a train; most of it company- sponsored. Not without valid reason, since time was, and is, at a premium for him.
Now his company is urging employees to use other modes of transport, like train, bus or car. AJ last week travelled by train after a gap for six years, from Chennai to Bangalore. Yesterday he broke the big news: “Pradeep, train is so cheap…!” He was talking of Shatabdi Express. I don’t know if he is aware what the cost of sleeper class ticket is.
What struck me was AJ’s amazement. For many like AJ, trains never existed, because on the fast lane of tech-driven life there were only the airplanes.
There was a time when middleclass people only saw planes up in the sky, forget travelling in them. Even for uppermiddle class, a flight was a once-in- a while phenomenon undertaken in times of emergency. During the last decade, it has been a revolutionary change. Even for the middleclass, flights were becoming a norm rather than an exception.
As they say, changes are always cyclic. Only few would have expected the change to happen this fast. Today youngsters are being taught what their parents and grandparents were very good at — saving and thoughtful spending. The days of reckless, mindless spending are over. At least for now.
Many like AJ are also in the process discovering a whole new world.
