A new Caste System

Last weekend the DRI made a startling revelation. It alleged that many of the dazzling new cars you and I see on the roads today, like Aston Martins, Bentleys, Rolls Royces, Ferraris, Lamborghinis and the most obnoxious of all, the Hummer, a car banned in many parts of the world for its gross gas guzzling, are stolen in Europe and smuggled in. Our politicians, businessmen and movie stars who buy them as bargain deals from illegal agents will soon be quizzed on who they bought the cars from and how they paid for them. It's a good sign. It demonstrates that even the most privileged are not beyond the arm of the law.

But this column is not about how the rich and mighty drive fancy stolen cars. It's about something more fundamental. How a brand new bunch of cars, legally or illegally bought, are challenging our existing caste system and trying to create a new one. Look around you on the streets of our cities, where you once saw only two kinds of cars, the Ambassador and the Fiat, and later the Maruti. You will be dazzled by the brands whizzing past. Some of them are among the world's best. Aston Martin has just introduced the One-77 for Rs 20 crore. It is the ultimate statement for rich Indians now determined to break into the new club. Luxury brands have successfully sold them the idea that the quickest entry lies in acquiring the latest and most fashionable cars, yachts or executive jets. This new caste system, unlike the traditional one, has less to do with the accident of birth or a surname. It's more about who you are and want to be. It's based on the belief that in today's world, money makes the new Brahmin.

Car brands are the new badge of caste in Mumbai. In Delhi it's property. Where you live, Jorbagh or Moti Bagh, Golf Links or Defence Colony, East or West Nizamuddin makes you who you are, as does the size of the land you occupy. Is it a 400 square yard property or a 1200 determines your status, your upbringing, your market value and who you can wed or bed. Curiously, just as the caste system works differently in different parts of India, the land size differentiator doesn't work in a vertical city like Mumbai where the best flats come in tall buildings on kerchief sized plots. Here, the caste system works on the premise of which neighbourhood you live in and, yes, the building. It's not about the size of your apartment. It's about who your neighbours are, the demographics of the locality, and, once again, the brands parked in the basement. Some of the new properties are now being branded. So you have apartments designed by Philippe Stark in Pune and Jade Jagger in suburban Mumbai. Trump has arrived in SoBo. While Tarun Tahiliani is making branded Goa homes, marked up 200 per cent.

Strangely, this snootiness doesn't work for all brands. Anyone can walk in and buy a LV or a Chanel at MRP without feeling intimidated. Many actually do. Middle class buyers buy the most expensive brands today at weddings to impress the other side and be seen as coming from a higher brand caste than they actually do. That's why weddings leave families with debt that takes decades to clear. Stuff that no one buys under normal circumstances, like Rolexes, Hayabusas and Kilgour French Stanbury suits, are bought during the wedding season, to impress the other side. Also, a whole lot of money is spent to position the newly wed couple in the fluid caste hierarchy and the choice of brands is what helps them do so. Those who cannot afford the real stuff, catch a quick flight to Bangkok or Guangzhou.

Does that mean the old caste system is vanishing? Perish the thought. It's only being overlaid with new, overarching brand hierarchies. So you see couples who might eventually settle into a tiny two bedroom apartment in a remote suburb checking into the Four Seasons for the wedding and the suhaag raat. Will Quintessentially replace the Moranis to organise the special events? I have no clue. Maybe it will. The best way to check it out would have been to ask them for invites to the Royal Wedding. Pippa Middleton's amazing posterior was the main draw, claim British media. But middle class India was actually looking admiringly at the pomp and splendour, and the Sarah Burton gown Kate wore, wondering if it can all be replicated here in a Mehrauli farmhouse. For the ultimate purpose of an Indian wedding is the same as that of a brand. It allows you that one magic moment to be snooty. After all, the slightly raised nose, those quivering lips, a supercilious glance, the look of disdain, the tone of snobbishness in the voice, a condescending look-- these are the hallmarks of having arrived. In any society. And India will not be left behind.