[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by CaliAtenza

Cities like Delhi have a pretty good public transport system, what with the Metro going to a lot of places. Its fine for kids to get a car or a bike, provided they use it wisely. Children who are going to be reckless with a swift, will be much more so with a higher powered, more expensive car.

I am sorry to disagree on this one. Public transport in Delhi looks good on paper. But in reality it is extremely difficult to use it because of:
1. The extreme weather conditions combined with lack of infrastructure to cover that final 1-2 kms from the Metro station to your destination. You will go crazy trying to bargain with auto drivers and if you are a girl then ....
2. The population explosion game: Have you travelled in the Metro, forget DTC buses totally. It is jampacked during peak hours. So much that you will have to fight to get into the train, fight to then stay inside the train and not get pushed out on the next station and then fight to finally get out of your station of interest. And again the safety factor is always there at the back of your mind.
Metro is a good alternative only for someone who had to go to one end of the city from the other. And good for him or her also only because it saves time. So one compromises and opts for all that pushing and pulling to save on there time and fuel expense while driving.

I frankly think having a high priced mobile in India isnt the best thing because there is really no infrastructure to take advantage of it. (unreliable 3G, no 4G or LTE). The power of the phone is pretty much wasted. Something like a Nexus 4 is great because it can be used fully on the existing networks that India has.

Again you are right. But then 99% of the people using these high end phones use it only for basic functions of call, messaging, FB, games. In most of the cases it is just the materialistic feeling of owning the best phone that fuels there sales. And why blame kids here? When everyone around them including there parents, siblings, neighbours etc have a high end phone, its no surprise that they too want one. Even the milk man or the driver of the house has that 6-7k chinese phone!

My problem is with the attitude of those youngers. Just because you have the latest mobile or the latest shoe, doesnt make you any better than the kid next to you or somebody else in your peer group. What are these kids being taught at home?

+100. I would blame that on there parents. Values like respect, courtesy and humbleness has totally evaporated from most youngsters today. Everyone wants to portray that tongue in the cheek character of Salman khan in Dabang sorts. Unless there parents make sure that the kid understands the value of money and the importance of things other than money, I dont see it changing. For instance buying a 40k Iphone for your kid is fine. But I know of so many of these school kids who lose there phones in a matter of 6 months, or either break it since they paid least concern on handling it properly, or have just got bored of it and want the latest gadget. And to my shock there parents buy them a new phone without any protest or reasoning.

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

I am sorry to disagree on this one. Public transport in Delhi looks good on paper ...

Err... what has that got to do with the subject of the thread? Or are you creating more logic for the SRKs to shun public transport? Hardly sensible logic. In case you have not noticed, or not grown up in Delhi - the crappy congested conditions are not a creation of Public Transport - it is by the public themselves. To say it is unsuitable for SRKs would be a travesty.

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by msdivy

Second, there must be 1000s of rich kids in Delhi. If 100s are them are unhappy, by a very optimistic exaggeration, that is 10% of rich kids. I think it is normal for any 10% of population to be unhappy in a country like ours.

So this article is faulty generalization and hence is trying to make mountain of nothing.

Note: BTW, what is the definition of rich? Who qualifies to be rich? Is there any annual income cutoff?

the definition of rich is totally subjective. the same as being happy I guess.
A person may be happy with what he has one moment and unhappy the next. It is also a bit relative in today's world, what with looking at holiday pics of other people on FB while at work for example
In the same way, one may feel rich while driving a hatchback compared to some one on a scooter. but the next moment someone overtakes you in a car you desire to buy but cannot, suddenly you are not rich anymore!

so the 10% is really a floating number. Not everyone can be happy all the time. so the people in this 10% would keep changing. I assume not everyone can continue to believe they are rich all the time, obviously except for the creme de la creme. Which is the section targetted in the original article.

In my opinion, the problem for these kids (mentioned in the article) is that they already have everything they would want and are probably depressed because they dont have anything left to buy, though they have the resources. Saturation is a more apt word, so what next?!

[9thsphinx]

Parents these days are not too far apart from what parents were back then. The only difference being "availability" and "accessibility". I've personally heard of stories and known of people in their mid-50's who have had an excellent childhood - no complains, no worries, no responsibilities. And they're still living it large. All this because they were born with a silver spoon. It wasn't their fault that they were born in a well-to-do family. Back then if you had access to all the worldly pleasures that money could buy and you had them all available to you without even asking twice, you wouldn't be living very differently to what these "rich kids" have been living nowadays.

Parents are there to teach you between the right and the wrong, but as a kid how they grow up to understand and differentiate between the two is entirely up to them. Majority of kids these days have inherently become irresponsible, not because of what their parents teach them or don't teach them, but more so because of the environment they live in. In this age of show and compete, power and pride, the parents are left helpless in their kids true upbringing and in the end burden their kids with materialistic possessions and little real knowledge.

I believe it's not all the parents fault for not imbibing the correct values in their kids, but partly also it's the kids themselves and the society as whole in which they're born and forced to live in which has made them value materialistic goods over being self-righteous and responsible human beings.

[alpha1]

Originally Posted by CaliAtenza

http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2...his-rich-kids/

She called me recently and we met for lunch. She looked dull and withdrawn. She told me she was extremely depressed and felt that her life wasn’t worth living. She isn’t the only Delhi rich kid to feel this way."

also: "Sanjay Chugh, a Delhi-based psychiatrist, says he treats three or four young, wealthy, unhappy patients a day. “Such children are often brought up being told that they have nothing to worry about and that money can take care of everything,” he said.

Perhaps I may appear to be a complete fool by asking this: but why would someone feel depressed living such a lifestyle?? !!!
What is there "not worth living"?
Does this idiot girl want to become a homeless abandoned poor orphan being molested on the road to understand what is worth living and what may not be?

I could never fathom ... looks like some people are born with screwed wiring in their brains. For such people: even if they were doing something "meaningful" (according to the social norms and contexts) - I am sure they would find a chance to get depressed and perhaps suicidal.

[CaliAtenza]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

I am sorry to disagree on this one. Public transport in Delhi looks good on paper. But in reality it is extremely difficult to use it because of:
1. The extreme weather conditions combined with lack of infrastructure to cover that final 1-2 kms from the Metro station to your destination. You will go crazy trying to bargain with auto drivers and if you are a girl then ....
2. The population explosion game: Have you travelled in the Metro, forget DTC buses totally. It is jampacked during peak hours. So much that you will have to fight to get into the train, fight to then stay inside the train and not get pushed out on the next station and then fight to finally get out of your station of interest. And again the safety factor is always there at the back of your mind.
Metro is a good alternative only for someone who had to go to one end of the city from the other. And good for him or her also only because it saves time. So one compromises and opts for all that pushing and pulling to save on there time and fuel expense while driving.


Again you are right. But then 99% of the people using these high end phones use it only for basic functions of call, messaging, FB, games. In most of the cases it is just the materialistic feeling of owning the best phone that fuels there sales. And why blame kids here? When everyone around them including there parents, siblings, neighbours etc have a high end phone, its no surprise that they too want one. Even the milk man or the driver of the house has that 6-7k chinese phone!



+100. I would blame that on there parents. Values like respect, courtesy and humbleness has totally evaporated from most youngsters today. Everyone wants to portray that tongue in the cheek character of Salman khan in Dabang sorts. Unless there parents make sure that the kid understands the value of money and the importance of things other than money, I dont see it changing. For instance buying a 40k Iphone for your kid is fine. But I know of so many of these school kids who lose there phones in a matter of 6 months, or either break it since they paid least concern on handling it properly, or have just got bored of it and want the latest gadget. And to my shock there parents buy them a new phone without any protest or reasoning.

Since i havent been to Delhi, i will defer to you on that one . Watching pictures of Delhi on TV, it looked like the DTC and Metro system were pretty sorted out. If it was a girl, then absolutely; she needs to be in the safest vehicle possible, preferrably one with a lot of airbags.

In the last couple of years in college, i remember that the mobile phone ownership, particularly of high end models (Galaxy S3, HTC, Sony models) absolutely exploded at my college. It seemed like everyone had a fancy mobile. I am not blaming kids so much as what is the point of having such a high end phone when you cannot even make use of it. At least for me, at home here in the US, i can and do use my Galaxy S3 to the fullest extent (via the 4G LTE internet on Verizon and 40 mbps Wifi connection at home). But also here, the S3, at the time, was only less than $200. Also, getting that phone stolen or misplaced in India is so easy (i lost my Galaxy SL in an Auto, after that i resolved to have reasonably priced, cheaper mobiles).

Honestly, if i was a parent, i wouldnt get my child a 40k iPhone (at least not in India because 40k for that phone is pure highway robbery and at least not without insurance of some sort). The attitude of youngsters today, people in my age and peer group, is awful. It reflects badly on their parents on upbringing. These were people who were going to be doctors; i shudder to think how they would treat their patients. It was so ironic to hear people call me spoiled simply because i was an NRI, yet they were the ones driving cars and having expensive mobiles (i drove a bike in college, and always had a moderately priced mobile). I know what spoiled is, i have seen it and grown up with it.

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

In case you have not noticed, or not grown up in Delhi - the crappy congested conditions are not a creation of Public Transport - it is by the public themselves. To say it is unsuitable for SRKs would be a travesty.

Sir I have grown up in Delhi and am well versed with the public transport available. You can put the blame on anything or rather a combination of multiple factors. But whats important to me is: Can I travel in Delhi public transport in comfort, safety and a hassle free manner? For me the answer is No. I am sorry but I have got used to a certain amount of comfort. I do not mind changing trains, standing in queues for security checks at the metro stations, climbing all those stairs etc but I CANNOT jostle with the crowd for entry and exit in the train at the Kashmere gate/ Tis Hazaari/ Rajiv Chowk station. And hence the need for a car.

[sameerg001]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

Sir I have grown up in Delhi and am well versed with the public transport available. You can put the blame on anything or rather a combination of multiple factors. But whats important to me is: Can I travel in Delhi public transport in comfort, safety and a hassle free manner? For me the answer is No. I am sorry but I have got used to a certain amount of comfort. I do not mind changing trains, standing in queues for security checks at the metro stations, climbing all those stairs etc but I CANNOT jostle with the crowd for entry and exit in the train at the Kashmere gate/ Tis Hazaari/ Rajiv Chowk station. And hence the need for a car.

I completely agree with you on this, as I am travelling this days by metro, since my car is in service centre for bodywork. All i'll say is, I'll rather go in a car over metro, the crowd is the biggest problem. Literally, I have to fight to get in and out of metro in peak hours.

[noopster]

Mod Note: Please stay on topic. Though the original article is specifically about Delhi's spoilt kids, it certainly holds true for any city in India. Let's focus on that element rather than getting into debates on which city is better, etc.

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

... CANNOT jostle with the crowd for entry and exit in the train ...

Originally Posted by sameerg001

... have to fight to get in and out of metro in peak hours.

And the locals will just smile, or maybe make a comment or 2 about the mental make-up. Sure, isn't that just another level of 'luxury expectation'? How different is it from the SRK problem being highlighted?

In which city in India is it any different for Public Transport? Sure, New York / London / Paris / Tokyo etc. have 2 things which are quite unlike India:
* Personal discipline when out in Public
* The concept of Personal Space
But, try and get into a train during peak hours in these cities?

Sure, even these cities have the SRK problem. How do they keep those problems in check? You don't see them because they don't stand out, but visit their usual haunts and you will find the same attitude and behavior. So why single out Delhi or India? It is fashionable, isn't it - like describing the Calcutta pathos earlier? Can't single out nationalities who do it, when we have enough head-in-the-clouds Indians to do that - here and abroad!

[akshaymahajan]

Its not the parents or the kids we can entirely blame. The entire system is messed up. An 18 year old driving a Porsche is not a problem. A 16 year old who is 'higher than the empire state' and over speeding is. Why? Because he knows he can get away with it. He knows that if he runs over somebody, his daddy will buy his way out. Because his parents told him so. And thats why he loves flaunting the 'Tu jaanta nahi mera baap kaun hai' attitude.
I remember a couple of years back i was an alumni (3 year old passout) at the farewell for the 12th graders. After the school thing ended there is a party (Conti as we used to call it). They had booked the fanciest club in Delhi in one of the fanciest hotels and the invitations said unlimited booze. 18 year olds, drunk and stoned out of there minds is not a pretty sight I can tell you that. And this was not only the rich kids. More than 80% of the kids go to this party. But again why were they served liquor? Why is the law not respected anywhere?

About the 'have everything and still unhappy' part. I totally get it (we are strictly talking about the filthy rich kids here who are either useless or have parents who tell them they dnt need to work for anything). If I were bought up that way, I would have killed myself. After having enjoyed all my cars/bikes and traveling the world in my private aircraft though.

The way I see it, its like living your life in the fanciest hotel in the world. Initially its beautiful and you feel pampered. Then the fun starts to go down. After a while you just want to go and do something. You dont want a concierge (who is probably smarter than you and can speak more fluently than you) to pick up your dirty plates after you have had your caviar. You want to use your own hands to do so. At some point in time, you have to realize that you have have done nothing in life. And your CV is a blank A4 sheet.

The whole system is flawed. Politics is. The law is. Society is. The chalta hai attitude is a problem. The 'tu janta nahi main kisse jaanta hun' needs to go.

Ok I just read what I wrote, enough ranting for today.

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by akshaymahajan

A 16 year old who is 'higher than the empire state' and over speeding is. Why? Because he knows he can get away with it. He knows that if he runs over somebody, his daddy will buy his way out.

Sorry for again being offtopic but then when these kids see that a guy can get away with rape and murder in the disguise of being a juvenile then how do you expect them to start respecting our laws?