ONCE it was the privilege of the royalty, who contributed to the summer scene with their extravagance. Up to the '80s staying with a distant relative in the UK, watching colour TV, doing the mandatory rounds of Marks & Spencer and having photos taken against popular tourist sights was big deal. No longer.
Fuelled by increased travel allowances, and new business opportunities due to liberalisation, coupled with aggressive promotion by British educational establishments, the new Indian traveller is far more experienced and comfortable. He prefers to stay at hotels and apartments rather than with relatives who are often a source of embarrassment, not having shed their traditions and, more importantly, their lilac and maroon salwars. The Indian traveller's shopping list has designer labels, perfumes, cosmetics and accessories rather than the indiscriminate shopping of earlier years. The focus is more on experiences rather than 'trophy' hunting of popular sights. There is also no more of 'if it's Tuesday, then it must be Belgium'. Now it's breakfast at Simpsons on the Strand, Brunch at the V&A, afternoon tea at Fortnum & Mason, clubbing at the Ministry of Sound in London, with visits to the Rock Circus, Pepsi Trocadero, Design Museum, the Natural History Museum and the BBC visitor centre. Out of London experiences include the Cotswolds, the Lake district—which is often described as an endless honeymoon—and Scotland, the land of whisky, golf and Braveheart.
Bhangra rap and Balti cuisine are in, ballroom dancing and bland food out. But the biggest influence still to come could be Tendulkar doing another Sharjah at the '99 World Cup in UK. Else, it would be the millennium and a century of another kind.