Time out with the young and the loaded

MUMBAI: They sit enveloped in a haze of strawberry-flavoured hookah smoke in a south Mumbai pub. The waiter, who walks up to clear the plates of half-eaten sandwiches and lipstick-stained wine glasses, flashes a smug grin. He knows this group of cellphone-toting, Gap-clad teenagers will leave behind a generous tip.
With parents indulging their teenaged children with more and more disposable cash, it’s not just waiters who are smiling.Discos are packed with skimpily clad collegians, beauty parlours list trendy youngsters as their prime patrons and marketing managers worship this breed of brand-conscious customers.
According to a recent study by market researchers KSA-Technopak, the average Delhi youth (16-24 years) gets pocket money of about Rs 4,000 a month. In Mumbai, the scene is no different. “There is definitely more money floating around in colleges these days,’’ says Kanika Dhawan, a student of St Xavier’s College. “For some of us, taking a break would mean catching a movie. But there are those who simply zip to Pune in their AC cars to head-bang at a rave party.’’
Almost every student has a cellphone tucked in his or her pocket. Their wallets are stashed with more cash than is needed to pay for their bus tickets and canteen snack. “Their bills on a single night-out add up to more than the annual college fees,’’ says Anuradha Kalhan, a Jai Hind College professor.
The parking slots outside colleges like Jai Hind and H.R. are packed with Ford Ikons, Mondeos and Montanas. “There are times when teachers find no space to park their cars,’’ rued an H.R. college professor.
“It is not uncommon to see children being given up to Rs 2,000 a week as pocket money,’’ says counsellor Anjali Chhabaria. The burgeoning wallets of students has, in fact, become a cause for concern for school and college authorities. “Schools like Cathedral have had enforced ceilings on the amount of money students can carry to class,’’ a Cathedral student’s mother says.
The have-money, will-spend generation, however, harbours no guilt. “If our parents can afford it, why should anybody grudge us our fun?’’ asks Divesh Shah (name changed) of K.C. College. For him, grooving at a disc or hanging out at a pub is passe. These days, he and his friends are checking out the lights at dance bars. “The thrill of stepping into a dance bar and having somebody dance to your tune gives us a real high,’’ he confesses.
“Youngsters these days are aware of the power of money,’’ notes social-psychiatrist Harish Shetty. “This is a direct fall-out of the way parents handle money. Until some years ago, if a child’s cricket ball broke somebody’s window, his parents would make him apologise. Nowadays, parents simply offer to pay.’’
Ms Chhabaria says that today’s youngsters equate fun with money. “We have had cases of teenagers beating their mothers when refused money,’’ she says.