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Para capitalism

Sometime back I wrote about my interaction with a Customs Officer in the Bangalore airport (read post).

Well I am travelling again and this time it is the new airport (the Customs desk did not have my friend from last time). This is the first time I am boarding an international flight from the new airport….(I just cannot get over a mindset that the phrase international flight sounds pompous)…and…this time...(music and cheering) there are separate lounges for First Class and Business Class passengers.

Well, in retrospect, I guess the new airport is symptomatic of the journey that India has made over the past decade and more.

The old airport, true to our country’s socialist roots, was class-less. Whether you are an Economy Class or a First Class passenger you would be treated the same way. It was only when you stepped into the plane (the check in counters and queue at boarding were not very significant) that class privileges kicked in.

Now India has moved well away from its socialist past into a new era of para-capitalism and Bangalore, which has been at the forefront of the new nation, appropriately has a new airport which provides added privileges as long as you can pay for it.

Is it a change for the better? Something inside tells me I liked it the way it was before, not the old airport, but the classless airport. And no, this is not a case of sour grapes.

By the way, my attempts at increasing hits by putting in semi-nude pictures in my previous post came a cropper. I somehow ended up with nil comments (not even from my good friend xh) and lowest hit rates ever. So much for sex sales!!

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