Unfortunately, we in India suffer with the false belief of ‘inflation’ as ‘development’. Take for example any residential area of olden times. The old independent houses have vanished paving way for multistoried flats, offices and merchandise. These constructions are not even as in the countries like Middle East or Singapore where they are sky scrapers. There the distinction between the business, shops and residences are clearly demarcated. Here we confuse everything like our culture.
 
In those countries, even if there are shops in the residential areas they don’t encroach and limit their activities to their specified areas. The buildings are invariably constructed with huge parking areas below the multistoried flats and offices.
 
Why we don’t do this?
 
If you walk into any street in Chennai, the houses are so crowded and closely packed one could hardly find a place between the building and the road. All the pedestrian walkways are occupied by two wheelers.  In addition outside their campus we have encroachments by small vendors irrespective of the area; they vary from mobile food joints to shoe repair and small time vegetable vendors.
 
Perhaps the ‘Equanimity’ according to Indian culture must be this.
 
Another special feature about Indian cities is the chaotic traffic. The daily accidents and many deaths do not seem to deter our population from drunken and rash driving with least regard for the road rules and human lives. We prefer to violate the rules and orderliness in all possible ways.
 
According to science any growth which does not fall into any logical or proper category is termed as cancerous only. Not just the metropolis of India, but also the small towns see only such inflated and improper growth and we feel happy about having everything within an area and feel proud about it as development.
 
This development reflects in land prices and construction costs and rentals. The ever growing Indian population provides business for everyone in some way or other.
 
Should one be happy about these types of unruly and gargantuan of business and population as improvement of our life styles?
 
Time alone can give an answer.