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One contrast between the old and the new world
In our times, all smart people tend to be concentrated in a few cities
NYC, SFO, London
(in India - Bombay, Blore, NCR)
The rest of the geography is denuded of talent
In the old world distribution of talented people was more even
In our times, all smart people tend to be concentrated in a few cities
NYC, SFO, London
(in India - Bombay, Blore, NCR)
The rest of the geography is denuded of talent
In the old world distribution of talented people was more even
Take the 19th century for instance
Someone like Abe Lincoln was born not in NYC. Not in Boston. But in a village in Kentucky
Let's take great Indian personalities like - VS Srinivasa Sastri, Alladi Krishnaswami Aiyar - they were not from Madras.
But kids of village priests
Someone like Abe Lincoln was born not in NYC. Not in Boston. But in a village in Kentucky
Let's take great Indian personalities like - VS Srinivasa Sastri, Alladi Krishnaswami Aiyar - they were not from Madras.
But kids of village priests
Someone like Srinivasa Ramanujan was not born in Bombay or Madras or Kolkata - the great cities of his day
But in the temple town of Kumbakonam
But in the temple town of Kumbakonam
So a kid in Madras had as much chance of having a v v smart classmate to look up to and emulate, as a kid in Kumbakonam or Srirangam!
Today that's hardly the case. If you are not in the top 7-8 metros, it is quite likely your peer group won't be great
Today that's hardly the case. If you are not in the top 7-8 metros, it is quite likely your peer group won't be great
While the liberal zeitgeist of our times celebrates the weakening of caste for instance, it is totally oblivious to the increasing segregation in society driven by forces of Economic Geography
Where you are born matters a LOT more than ever before.
Where you are born matters a LOT more than ever before.
It doesn't matter what your caste is BUT you are heavily handicapped if you are studying in a school in Vellore as opposed to PSBB in Chennai or NPS Indiranagar in Bangalore
The barriers of economic geography are much steeper than even the old barriers of caste in my view
The barriers of economic geography are much steeper than even the old barriers of caste in my view
In part this explains the backwardness of the North Indian plain
The talented people in the towns of the Gangetic plain are moving to Delhi, Bombay, Bangalore...
There are no major cities in UP, Bihar to migrate to and work in. Nowhere close to the same opportunities in NCR
The talented people in the towns of the Gangetic plain are moving to Delhi, Bombay, Bangalore...
There are no major cities in UP, Bihar to migrate to and work in. Nowhere close to the same opportunities in NCR
So the realities of economic geography and the clustering of most high-end talent in places like Bangalore/NCR means that the second tier cities just refuse to grow
Every other MNC wants to set up a back-office in Bangalore. In NCR.
Not in Kanpur. Or Patna
A vicious loop
Every other MNC wants to set up a back-office in Bangalore. In NCR.
Not in Kanpur. Or Patna
A vicious loop
