Having been in Delhi for over a decade of a century, I have witnessed its transformation in numerous ways. Some of them are for the good and as silent spectator have also watched things go in shambles. What I am most concerned about is the change in the attitude of people and to some extent the loss of personal values. I believe Delhi is not an exception and it's not better in other cities. May be, I am old fashioned and completely out dated as I still tend to hold on to what may be regarded as the old fashioned values.

I think a lot has to do with the up brining, one's own and how one brings up the children. This is where things seem to be going wrong. It is common to see a very young kid behaving badly in a public place or a restaurant and the parents doing nothing about correcting the behavior right there. In fact they seem to take some kind of a pride in the ruckus the kid makes. Encouraged, the kid keeps graduating to the next level as he continues to grow. The problem is in the parents who see nothing wrong in the bad behavior. It may have something to do with money or authority/position that the parents hold that gives the protection to the child to do what he wants. Collectively, the whole society sees a change in the attitude and there seems to be more aggression now than what we had experienced earlier. Basic courtesies are vanishing from our system. The change is visible and that is disturbing.

We started observing the change, with the change in life style. More disposable money brought in arrogance. It kind of crept in and then erupted in outrageously vulgar display. The young watched the elders change their behavior and felt encouraged to dovetail. The elders seemed to like it and even encouraged their wards. The young learn fast and developed a swagger and a chip on their shoulders. Life style brought a change on the domestic front as well. Home made Rasna and syrups made way for aerated drinks and more recent trend is to go for the imported stuff displayed in super markets. Black Label is no longer taken out on occasions; its what you are expected to drink all the time. Many have moved from Black Knight to Single Malts in matter of years. Good for them but must they pretend that it is what they have always drank? It is gentlemanly at a private dinner to upset a host by refusing to touch lesser stuff or after inspecting the label, grudgingly take a sip or two and announce that they drink something better at home?

Maruti, that brought a complete change in motoring in the country and had become a status symbol, lost it in a decade and has been relegated to the entry level car. One or two cars per family are no longer enough and you are gauged by the fleet of top of the line luxury cars in the garage. One can argue there is nothing wrong in being upwardly mobile. Well sure, we all work towards being upwardly mobile, don't we, but must we throw decency, our personal values and basic humility out of the window? What do we get Out of it and who cares if you drive a BMW or a Jaguar? If you have earned it, you deserve it but damn it why that attitude of a Baths Saab?

I believe this vulgar display has a lot to do with money - the sudden richness. Most rich were not born rich and had a humble beginning. Money was what they chased and having got that, they loved to display it as soon as it came. They saw to it that their kids got much more than what they deserve and loaded them with easy money to show their richness. The women went into a top spin and used all touch points to display the freshly acquired assets. And now there is another disturbing trend that has started. As some executives go up the corporate ladder they start to flout their perks to pamper their kids. It is accepted for the kid to show off in that big company car and take it to college or the disc. I would again attribute it to the false pride in the executive who is giving a wrong direction to his children.

Collectively, look at what we have made out of our kids. What would you call some one who can't speak a sentence without using a swear word. Who is ready to explode in road rage and must insist on drinking and behaving like a pig in public places. The loud music must start blaring as soon as the ignition in the car is switched on and cares too hoots about traffic signals while the accelerator must be pressed all the way till the floor? In my vocabulary the word is rogues!

We are the ones who encourage the younger lot to get into the groove as night descends. We ensure that they frequent Pubs and allow the culture to mushroom, And if we encourage them to got to a Pub we must give the money to dress them for it. The funkier it is the better it gets. At times there is little left to the imagination and if you want to know who puts on those skimpy dresses paraded in fashion shows, then get into a smoke filled Pub and you will get an eye full of them draped over swinging bodies. Let me not get into relationships and living-in culture that we have decided to accept, as that is a personal matter.

We have all been to Pubs and discotheques at some points of life and may have loved it. But did we like the odd who was showing off that he was loaded? Nab! We turned away in disgust. Its "in" these days and the last time I was dragged into one I felt out of place and made a hasty exit. Back in the parking lot, I got chatting with attendant and enquired about business which he said was flourishing because of the number of cars and the youngsters throwing money to get their cars out of the parking slot as they were too far gone on the juice and could barely walk.......