The fact that we use these phrases separately always feels strange, as if the two are different countries, that are just sharing a common past but not a shared present or future, like Pakistan & India.
And yet, watching the Rajiv Gandhi Awards 2009 on Sony TV today just brought to life the paradox of the New India & Old India co-existing besides each other, and a little awkwardly.
The event had all the faces of new India - the young achievers, awards for some real modern India achievements to be proud of, new age Bollwyood stars (aka Shahid, Hrithik, Priyanka, Katrina), Raju Srivastav (cracking jokes at everyone), slick choreographed performances, dazzling & psychedelic lighting, MCs with a script that was actually engaging, and even Vishal-Sekhar doing a 'rock on' show walking amidst the audience & getting them to sing alongside their loud, impactful (yet terrible) voice.
And it had all the faces of old India too - the politicians in their kurta pyjamas, the very-doordarshan sets, the calling out of 'women' achievers in a separate category (and worse, referring to them as 'modern women'), the jai-hind/independence day celebration mode of the speeches, the VIP front row, the rajiv gandhi photo on the award stauettes that were being given away.
But, it was clear that the old and the new India didn't really come together as one being. Despite best intentions, it felt like a forced bringing-together of what IS India 2009 & what IS ALSO India 2009 (& thank god isn't all of it). It felt like the public sector India that is trying to show that it can be 'modren' too.
It felt like SBI with internet banking facilities, not ICICI Bank. It felt like Doordarshan with DTH, not NDTV. It felt like MTNL with Dolphin mobile services, not Airtel. It felt like Maruti Esteem Vxi, not the Santro. It felt like Swades, not Lage Raho Munnabhai. Like Roohafza with a new sexy ad, not Real Fruit Juices. Like Air India with business class & online check-in, not Jet Airways. It was new (-ish), but still anchored in the old. It was the old India trying to say 'look everyone, I'm wearing new clothes'
It is true that the new India has emerged out of the old. But, it is fascinating to see the two still existing side-by-side in 2009, without really mixing with each other... just about recognising the presence of each other, acknowledging their similarities, ignoring their differences, and together evolving into the next decade...
