The Problem with Delhi's Rich Kids

I grew up in Delhi in a middle class family but I went to a school full of kids from Upper middle class to filthy rich families. The kids who came from old money families were actually fairly down-to-earth and some of them have worked hard to build their own businesses and startup (of course, having a cushion to fall back makes it easy to take risks but still, it still admirable to have the desire to do something on your own.) But then there were kids from the 'new money' families born out of the new economic boom. These were the ones who drove daddy's expensive cars, flirted with prostitution, drove through traffic stop lights (like it was an inconvenience for them) at full speed.

The thing is that this breed exists in every city in the world - what exacerbates the situation in Delhi is that they don't have any regard for law and order. Couple that with the relatively weak and easily bribed police force - you have these kids running over pedestrians and getting away with it, shooting waitresses in the head when they deny them drinks after closing time (as an extreme example)

I don't care about their depression problems, a good ass whooping can fix that, I care about the unsafe environment they create in the city.

Not surprised. Humans have evolved during times of scarcity and are most productive and happy in that situation. When one has zero needs, wants, goals, life loses its purpose.

It takes focus and delayed gratification to create such purpose, however. These values are not immediately apparent to young people. The article is correct that they must be taught by parents or perhaps even society. That is, if we want well-off young people to make themselves useful earlier.

Not sure how this is uniquely applicable to Delhi. Sounds like this would be an issue pretty much anywhere in the world.

First world problems...

One of the biggest culture shocks I experienced in Delhi was going to the cinema (Die Hard 3, I think). Almost every member of the audience talked on the 'phone the whole way through. The conversations always started, "I'm in the cinema..." and then "deteriorated" into social gossip.

My college (im sure like many others) had a bunch of rich international students from India. I found them to be hard working, ambitious, and generally down to earth. Perhaps it was because they were well traveled and had a will to surpass their family's wealth with their own stamp on the world. Many had also done a lot more community service than American peers in much more squalid conditions...they also seemed to be more attune to their (screwed up) political system.

In short, just like the other comments, I don't think this rich kid ennui is just in India...or Delhi

> “Modern society is rational and rigid, whereas postmodern society is irrational and flexible by definition. Delhi transformed into a postmodern society about two decades ago. Naturally the behavior of kids born in the postmodern era reflects the postmodern culture,” he said.

This quote confused me. I don't want to get into the freshman in a university discussion of the merits of different cultural values..

but when did Dehli become "post-modern"? Is this a phrase people use often? What types of changes happened 20 years ago? It's like this quote is hinting at a much larger social discussion, and then immediately they didn't discuss it.

This article left me completely wanting, and read like some unfinished first draft. Yes rich kids can much more easily get spoiled, and the term "spoiled" does have some literal meaning. It was almost as if the point of the article was to let me know rich people exist in India? Duh?

same thing in Bombay, Bangalore, Calcutta. Essentially first world problems. Though I have to say I always felt that Delhi had a higher proportion of new rich than cities with older wealth like Bombay - and it was something very obvious when you were in the city.