While for most, the recession is a nightmare, for a few it is welcome, due to being a leveller.

Almost everyone you meet or talk to is worried about the recession and global slow-down.
Even autorickshaw-drivers cite the slowdown for not reducing fares inspite of the price of
petrol going down by Rs10 per litre. These were the same guys who hiked fares to the sky
when the government hiked petrol prices due to international crude-oil prices hovering in
the 140$ range.

However, there are some who think a recession is actually the best thing that could have happened to India. They see it as a big leveller. These people were horrified by the absurd increase in the cost of living that was a result of the IT boom. They were amazed at the
atrocious prices at which tiny 2-bedroom apartments were being sold in even Tier-2 cities
like Cochin or even in much smaller towns like Kollam.

Initially the slowdown was not impacting Kerala like it affected other parts of India. This
was because the economy of Kerala is not very much dependent on the US or EU. It is highly dependent on the Middle Eastern Arab countries (referred to as the 'Gulf' in local parlance) where most Keralites work.

But the Arab countries began to take a hit when the price of crude oil plummetted to the level
of 30-odd dollars. For the Arabs, the biggest revenue grosser is oil and when its price falls to around 1/5th of what it was few months ago, their spending naturally takes a huge hit. The after-effects of this were seen in salary cuts of immigrant workers, freezing recruitment and even layoffs.

While it is mostly the IT crowd that is the reason for over-the-top spending in the major
Indian cities, in Kerala, it is the Gulf crowd that lead this surge. You can easily make out this crowd from the normal Keralite. Apart from flashy dressing and the ubiquitious gold chain around their neck, what mainly distinguishes them is their "throw money around" attitude.

If you are at a fish market bargaining for a kilo or more of some fish that costs around 300
bucks per kilo, what can easily spoil your party is one of these guys coming over. If they like
the fish, they will buy it without bargaining and paying the asking price. And you will be left standing there wondering why for the fish-vendor, you almost do not seem to exist when a "Gulfie' is around.

Fish is Priority No.1 for almost all Keralites - well it is closely tied with Gold. I say 'almost' because I am not much of a sea-food lover and possibly the only 1 in the family who leans
more towards meat than fish. Even my 16-month old son who is just about learning to speak,
is crazy about fish and there is no way he would eat lunch or dinner without Mi-Mi (his term
for 'Meen" which is what is Mallu-speak for fish).

So, last Sunday when my FIL came in from his morning visit to the fish market, he was not
in a good mood. It seems he had identified a particular fish to buy and while he was bargaining
hard on the price, in walks a 'Gulfie' who pays the asking price and vanishes with what my FIL thought would be on his plate for lunch. :-)

My FIL & MIL are retired government employees living on a fixed monthly pension plus
savings from their lifetime of work. While they do like their fish, they cannot afford to throw around money like either the 'Gulfie' or the 'Techie'. After yet another disappointing encounter with the way these 2 groups of people were contributing to rising prices of fish, this was a brief summary of the conversation at my wife's home :

FIL : I am glad about the whole recession thing. I would say let it continue for some more
time so that these 'Gulfies' & 'Techies' would know how to value money without throwing it
around, not only making life difficult for the common man, but also contributing to an absurd
rise in prices of most food items.

MIL : You might be right, but if the recession continues, many people will lose their jobs not
only in the Middle East, US but also those working in India.

FIL : Who cares ? Let them lose their jobs. Atleast post-recession, they will learn to value
money, to save for a rainy day and to spend wisely.

MIL : Maybe they would. But I still think you should be careful about what you are wishing
for ?

FIL : Why should I be careful ?

MIL : Pretty simple. Because both your sons-in-law are techies. :-)
FIL: !!!

And like everytime, my MIL had the last word.