The Seduction of McDonald's
Children love McDonald's burgers. The food may be fattening and seriously unhealthy, but they are tantalizingly inexpensive. Packaged in the unmistakable aura of the American dream, the cheapest burger in India is priced at merely 20- rupees, equivalent to US $0.5.
No matter what the permutations and combinations of McDonald's menus in different parts of the world, it all comes down to patties mixed in bread crumbs and deep fried. You will not get an authentic Chiken Tikka in Bombay's McDonald's, or a richly-flavored Bouillabaisse stew in Marseilles's, or a fulfilling Haggis in Edinburgh's. It would be the same burgers, having the same flavor, with certain superficial twists to cater to the sensibilities of the local markets.
The Invasion of the Malls
Each bazaar in Delhi has its own buzz. Sarojini Nagar Market specializes in stoned jeans and pretty sandals at bargainable prices. South Extension Market has glamorous Saree showrooms. It is a shopping district where hop-scotching from Mehra Jewelers to Ebony Garment Store has to be interrupted by a hurried feeding of oily Aloo-Gobhi and Sweet Mango Lassi in the corner Bangali Sweet Shop.
Connaught Place, the celebrated British-built central shopping district of New Delhi, has its charm of aimless loitering in the white colonial corridors of the family-friendly Inner Circle, and of experiencing a salacious pleasure of being proposed and followed by prostitutes in the seedier Outer Circle. Palika Bazaar happens to be the destination for blue film junkies, and Nehru Place the shopping mecca for pirated software.
Paharganj Main Bazaar, situated opposite the New Delhi Railway Station that offers cheap hostels to western backpackers, is the place to look for small, hippy-friendly Buddha statues and to doodle down authentic Israeli Falafel, besides savoring the pleasure of walking past exotic bakeries displaying German graffiti. And if you have a daring for some wild life, this teeming bazaar also provides discrete services of Nigerian drug peddlers and fat-white East European prostitutes.
But slowly, gradually, this charming world is coming to an end. All across Delhi, including in its teeming suburbs, the landscape is sprouting shopping malls as fast as pimples appear on the smooth cheeks of a 14-year-old nymphet. You can buy Levi Jeans, canned vegetables, factory pickles, children's toys, branded underwear, served over by indifferent uniformed attendants, all under the one roof of these air-conditioned bubbles.
The romance of a bazaar excursion will be lost.
The Multiple Choices of the Multiplex
In New Delhi's greeny Chanakayapuri enclave stands a theatre of the same name. It has several legends attached to it. Richard Attenborough's Jesus Christ version of Gandhi -- that went on to won 8 Oscars — had its world premiere on its screen in 1982. Many middle-aged couples claim to have started their courting in its dark corners. Unfortunately, this single-screen auditorium with a capacity of a thousand seats is now breathing its last days. It is getting ready for the new owners who have declared their plans of implanting a multiplex on its ruins.
Article comments
1 - Gordon Hauptfleisch
Wonderfully written--evocative, insightful.
2 - Ruvy in Jerusalem
Kol hakavód!! All honor to you!! An excellent piece for self-absorbed Americans to read while they contemplate why the world seems so damned ungrateful for their "blessings."
3 - MoreValiant
Nice piece, Mayank. Too bad about McDonalds. They aren't even very good hamburgers, as hamburgers go
4 - RedTard
Blah, blah, blah. The difference between McDonald's and the communist blocks is that Ronald doesn't hold a gun to anyone's head and force them to go, people go because they want to.
If freedom bothers you that much perhaps it is you who should change your priorities.
5 - Andy Marsh
I got your self-absorbed American right here Ruvy! (said in the most impolite NY accent I can muster)
6 - Bryan McKay
Very nice article, although I'm not sure about your comparison between communism and unfettered global capitalism. They share quite different ideals and the outcomes are rather dissimilar.
7 - tommyd
Great blog. America's New World Order is surely a grotesque and soul-killing plan. Communism through the backdoor while the mouth spouts the wonders and desirability of "democracy".
8 - Joey
The Hamburger... makes you sicko.
I haven't eaten fast food in over 25 years. I don't figure I'm missing much. I will eat a Ruby Tuesday salad buffet every now and again, but the music is way to loud. I just want to wolf it down and get back to the sanity of my car.
I used to enjoy places like Martinique, where you could enjoy a fresh crepe at the corner crepe cart. Or, some fresh fruit and vegatables from the local market... go over to the Club Med and relax with the topless. No Budweiser, no Coke, no burger joints. REAL Vietnamese food (the French inherited quite a bit of that culture from their (gasp) colonial days).
Or Ponape, Palau, Truk... small, unblemished, uncluttered with the corporate crap.
People at my office LOVE to go out to someplace exciting to eat like... Chili's, or Red Lobster, or ... whatever... how disgusting!
Do patronize and watch it all dry up and blow away... by the by... Chipulti's (sp) is owned and operated by McDonald's... oh and Outback steakhouse is headquartered in Tampa... and there probably ain't an Aussie bone in that organization.
Thanks Mr. Singh. Nice output.
9 - Nancy
It happened here first: I used to love to go to Annapolis, MD & visit all the wonderful idiosyncratic & unique stores & galleries on Main & Duke of Gloucester streets. Then a Banana Republic moved in. Shortly, the sandwich shop which served funky local fishy specialties, even at breakfast, disappeared to be replaced by a Burger King. Mickey D's cropped up across the street where a specialty shop used to be. The terrific 2nd-hand books place was next, replaced by a Borders. And so on. When the absolutely unique art gallery closed - to make way for another chain jeans place - we stopped going at all. Why bother? There was no longer anything there to travel for, and sorry, but the fact that all these national chains were housed in old 18th-century buildings or Faux approximations thereof didn't make up for the fact that their goods were about as exciting as identical pieces of cardboard. What floored me was when the then-mayor complained that business had fallen off in Annapolis, and he just couldn't figure out why. All the developers & investors & store owners, all were just totally clueless.
As far as I know, it never did pick up again. After all, why drive out of your way to go to what is just another Banana Republic or Starbucks?
Reminds me of the scene in 'Roger Rabbit' where the crazy 'toon judge remarks how beautiful it will be when all the neighborhoods are gone, replaced by endless freeways & traffic ramps.
10 - RedTard
Question:
If all liberals loved and frequented every 'unique' overpriced mom and pop then how come they all end up out of business?
Answer:
They don't.
Follow up:
If they also participate in shopping, eating, and buying this stuff up then why are they online bashing it?
Answer:
Because they're insecure, hypocritical stuckup assholes who get off on thinking that their taste in music, food, shopping (fill in your favorite activity here) is sooo much better than everyone else's. You see the same stupid shit on a range of subjects. For them, popularity and goodness cannot coexist and their constant criticism is a desperate attempt to garner the audiences' attention about how 'special' they are.
11 - Nancy
Was there a point in that comment?
12 - mike
There is no comparison between communism and americanism. If the mom and pop "unique" stores could compete with the big franchises kudos to them. If they can't then they deserve to close. Big chains become big for a reason because they are well managed or have other competitive edge.
13 - Mayank 'Austen' Singh
Ruvy, what does 'Kol hakavód' mean?
14 - Dave Nalle
What you're forgetting here is that at the same time MacDonalds is invading India and everywhere else India is invading us as well, so while you may not be able to get a good Chicken Tikka at MacDonalds in Delhi, you can certainly find an excellent one at any of a number of restaurants in Austin or New York or London or Frankfurt.
Dave
15 - diana hartman
the nicest, homiest places to live in america -- no matter their size -- might have but one or two mcdonald's, if that...mcdonald's (and pottery barn, wal-mart, ford dealers, and krispy kreme) will only go where there is money to be made and where they have been welcomed (relatively speaking) -- anywhere in the world...they won't go where those with enough money and who want to keep them out can afford to keep them out, and they won't go where there are those too poor to afford it...this is why there are no mcdonald's in eastborough, kansas or mogadishu, somalia...
i don't know that it's so much about communism vs capitalism as it is about good architecture vs bad architecture, tastefulness vs tastelessness (pun intended), and americanized vs americana ("americana" being a lovely misnomer for "white trash")...regardless of your business, assaulting the landscape with your own special brand of architecture instead of partnering with the area in which you do business is reprehensible...many of the mcdonalds locations i've seen around europe are marked only by golden M dangling from an overhang ...you have to find the entrance, go up a flight or two of stairs, and through a few doors to find it -- as it should be given the number of calories one consumes once there...
16 - diana hartman
I am pleased to tell you this article is being featured in the Culture Focus today, June 28.
Diana Hartman
Culture Editor
17 - Mayank 'Austen' Singh
Thanks Diana!
18 - Ruvy in Jerusalem
Mayank,
I'd never throw a Hebrew phrase at you without translation - that ain't fair. You have too many languages to throw at me that I don't understand.
Kol hakavód means "all honor (to you)." Just like you saw it in my original comment.
19 - Scott Butki
Excellent post, Mayank
20 - Mayank 'Austen' Singh
Thanks Scott. I aprreciate your comment. Also, please visit my new blog - The Delhi Walla. i have worked hard on it!
21 - SFC SKI
Excellent writing, Mayank. I'd probably cry the day I finally make it to INdia and there is a McDonald's blcking my view of the Taj MAhal.
RedTard, excellent point made in Comment #10.
I lived on Cape Cod back in the '80's and the near-riot that ensued when Burger King tried to move in on Main Street was something to see. It failed, thankfully, and no one has starved to death yet. There are times when driving thirty miles for a Whopper does wear on a person, though.
22 - Ruvy in Jerusalem
I too, remember Burger King being fought in my neighborhood in Brooklyn (unsuccessfully)... And when I saw a McDonald's golden arch with a maple leaf stuck on it in Thunder Bay 18 years go, I was truly sad.
Whopper sandwiches are great - until you have that first heart attack...
23 - villageroot
You have sort of given expression to my thoughts about the extinction of small shops. My visit to a mall today prodded me to write on the monstrosity of malls. I am glad there are others who also empathise with small shops.
24 - LivianaM
Who said America agrees? more so the government...
25 - LivianaM
Why did Bush do the exact opposite and abolish mom and pop shops for chains?
For
Wal-Mart? His friends own Wal Mart? wonderful "conservative" Christian men... Since I am a moderate, I love mom and pop shops... But my town does not have too many. I hate all these chains, but there isn't much you can do but protest. Why would a "conservative" president be the one to abolish these shops.