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The “American Dr

by Dr. Roopa Vajpeyi junkyards. Cars sales in Indian cities are on the upward

I
swing, but there are no roads to run these cars on. Fuel
n the ancient civilization of India, sustainability and prices keep spiralling, as does the resultant pollution
moderation in consumption has always been a way from these consumption patterns. While Northern cul-
of life. This pattern has been respected and left tures embrace organic food and alternative healing,
largely undisturbed by Indian consumers who consider Indians satiate themselves with colas and burgers; while
themselves a part of the cycle of nature. An interactive the U.S. scrambles to patent India’s biodiversity,
relationship with nature and the natural environment is Indians are glued to their TV sets. Sitting in Delhi, with
a part of every Indian’s life. telephones that don’t work, PCs on the blink because
In the past half century, India has made rapid of erratic power supplies, postal strikes and polluted
strides in economic development. This, coupled with rivers, activists in consumer and environmental organi-
demographic pressures, a gigantic middle-class known zations have their task cut out for them.
to be the largest market in the world, and the free entry

PHOTOS BY JAGDEESH SUBANNA


of global players into the Indian consumer market have
changed the consumer scene completely. A new con-
sumer culture of disposability, over-consumption, and
wanton disregard for the environment has become the
norm in the Indian society.
Rapid and unplanned urbanization has created an
enormous population of urban poor. This group con-
sists of unskilled laborers that have been pressured out
of their traditional habitats by environmental, social and
economic changes. Their traditional lifestyles evolved
out of responsible use of natural resources and, as a
result, sustainable practices have been in circulation for
centuries. Their lifestyles, though dependent on the
environment, never sought to damage or deplete it in
any far-reaching way. Mutual nurturing was the subtext
of this human/nature relationship.
The culture that emerged from this dual depen-
dence is under severe stress in a new urban milieu that
is a poor copy of the Northern pattern of living. The
present Indian urban scenario seeks to replicate lifestyles
alien to its context, without necessary infrastructural
support. As a result, all service sectors in Indian cities
are under tremendous stress. While the markets over-
flow with glitzy new products, and advertisers have a
field day selling incongruous cultural icons and lifestyles
to Indian consumers, the Indian consumer culture is
rapidly undergoing behavioral shifts that adversely
impact the environment.
Middle class Indian homes have become gadget
8 ◆ SPRING 2001
ream” Invades India
T H E N EW - AG E REALI T Y
It is not just the quantity of consumption and spending
that has undergone a change but also the attitude of
consumers towards consumption and the reasons to
consume. Advertising strategies have effectively influ-
enced consumers to accept products without question-
ing their use or viability. Health scares, safety, and beau-
ty-consciousness are just some of the tactics used to
encourage sales. From tap water to bottled mineral
water, from herbal options to international cosmetics
brands, and from clay pots and cups to plastics, the
change has been far too obvious to ignore.
In 1998, a dropsy epidemic gripped the Indian cap-
ital. Over 2000 people were affected and 41 deaths
were reported. The consumption of common mustard
oil was held responsible and overnight the much-used
CA N D EV E L O P M E NT A ND
traditional oil was put out of use. Mustard oil is used
T RAD I T I O N EXI ST T O G ET H E R ?
for cooking purposes, skin care, in local crafts, as a With globalization sweeping across the developing
preservative, as a fuel, and for therapy. Mustard is world, it is unlikely that there will be a turn around in
grown all over North India and many individual homes the current trend of growing market influence. What,
in rural areas extract mustard oil on their own and then, we need to focus on is making consumption and
remain self-sufficient all year round. But all of this production patterns as sustainable as possible without
changed after the dropsy epidemic. Mustard oil was sacrificing the present lifestyle or comforts. The Indian
poured down the drain (ending up in rivers, polluting urban middle-class will have more and more disposable
them with a virtual ‘oil slick’) and replaced by the mar- income in the future and it will be hard to put a cap on
ket alternative — packaged edible oils. These oils are consumption.
subject to little quality control and the consumer has no Assimilation and acceptance have been integral fea-
way of determining what’s in them. And yet, they are tures of India’s development. Its cultural bonds are so
readily accepted as being safe and of superior quality strong that it is able to accommodate change with cer-
due to clever advertising. tain modifications to suit its needs. It is this resilience
The Indian cosmetic scene is also very active, and flexibility that is needed today to control and
thanks to the presence of brands like Revlon, Avon and redress environment degradation and social upheaval.
Lakme, all jostling for attention on Indian market Consumers need to hark back to traditional knowledge
shelves and television. The cosmetic sector in India is and absorb its good practices into their urban lives.
now undoubtedly on a new plane, with slick advertising
Roopa Vajpeyi teaches in the Department of English at
and the creation of new paradigms of beauty and cele-
the University of Delhi. She holds a Ph.D. in American
bration. Herbal remedies that were part of every Indian
Poetry. She travels, speaks, writes, publishes and conducts
household have also acquired commercial overtones.
training workshops for teachers, students and grassroots
Herbal medicines and beauty products are some of the
women on a variety of topics. She also works for the
most expensive brands in India and abroad today.
United Nations High Commission for Refugees in India.

SPRING 2001 ◆ 9

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