Valley Chai

Originally uploaded by spandana

here’s a view from the room at the Royal Orchid Hotel bangalore (near the KGA golf course). looking through the sheer curtains of a plush room, you can see the slum dwellers that are probably allowed to live there to protect it from encroachment.

you can stay in the hotel for a night at a special phirangi rate of $250/day (it is typically much lower if you are indian). that $250 roughly converts to Rs.10,000, which is pretty close to the per-capita income in india.

which made me wonder: the spectrum of income distribution has widened, with the higher end rapidly expanding and the lower end firmly rooted where it was years ago. so much so that a rich person can’t evade the the proximity of poverty regardless of where he goes: at home, in the coffee shop, in a private communities, at work.

if the projections are true, and with the rupee appreciation, the gap in the living standards could narrow, insha’allah!