The South is a
special place…..
By Harish
Bijoor
The South is a special place. For
more reasons than one. Setting aside the emotional one, let me explore the
rational argument.
And please! For a start, let me
clarify this is no jingoistic comparison of region to region. Instead, it is a
clear positioning of the potential of the 4 South Indian states of India at
large. If there is any comparison attempted in number terms, it is merely to give
a perspective to an otherwise dull
number.
The South is an exciting place.
It is home for a start to 251 million Indians. The sex ratio remains healthy. The
total population number of the 4 South Indian states makes it a region that
contributes 21 percent to the population of
India. If our fertile young people
out here work harder, we are going to maintain this number contribution on an even
keel.
In terms of employment, the South
is a robust environment. The South equally exports its people to literally
every part of the world, just as the South attracts the best of talent from
every nook and cranny of the world. To that extent the South has emerged a
mixed market. What was once a language-centric domination of the local people,
has given way to multiple sets of communities co-existing happily. You will
find a Kenyan rubbing shoulders with a Bengali, just as you will find a Punjabi
rubbing shoulders with a Kannadiga in Bangalore. The lines of language are
blurring, and the old jingoism of language is giving way to a more common
adoption of Hindi as a national language. In more ways than one, Hindi is
emerging the alternate language of every one of the Metros in the 4 South
Indian states. This in turn, is ironing
out the creases in consumption patterns
of both media and brands and products and services alike.
If I am to look at it anecdotally,
here is an example. It was a Sunday evening and auto-rickshaws on the streets
of Bangalore were scarce. Every one of the registered 87,000
auto-rickshaws in the city seemed
full. Waiting at the kerb-side, I heard a heated argument taking place between
Hindi speaking auto-driver and Kannada speaking passenger. The auto-driver had
gathered a big crowd around him. The passenger was shouting at him in Kannada,
belting out choice expletives for not running the meter and demanding an excess
fare. The auto driver was just harping on one point: “Sir, don’t scold me in
Kannada. This is India. Scold me. But scold me in Hindi!” The gathered crowd
on up-market Commercial Street was totally with the plea of the auto-driver!
In terms of education, the South
is an educated place. In many ways, the very lack of opportunity to work of
yore, has by default made the entire region a place that encouraged education.
The quality of education doled out by institutions in the South has made it
emerge a veritable centre of excellence in higher education. Engineering,
medical, management, technical and now even law and catering colleges of repute
have positioned far flung towns in South India as magnet towns that attract students
from all over the country and overseas as well.
Anecdotally, if you were heli-dropped
at Vellore in Tamilnadu, without knowing where you were, you would never know
you are in the heart or liver or gizzard of Tamilnadu. The same goes for Manipal
in Karnataka, where the population of Manipal is as variegated as the
population of India itself. Also, 92 per cent of this town is below the age of
25!
South India, extending that point
of a young audience, is an attractive location for the young. The early
end-to-end services boom happened in Bangalore and Hyderabad. These cities have
emerged hubs for IT companies, Biotech firms and more. A whole eco-system of
employment opportunities has emerged in the South. Slapping Bangalore on a
resume has become an important adjunct to a techie today. Never mind which part
of the world you live in. Bangalore is a value-add.
The South in return has risen to
the occasion and put up an excellent infrastructure in place. And many are in a
project-stage. Hyderabad and Bangalore airports(in that order please) are rated among the best in
the region. Bangalore has just kicked off its celebrated Metro rail system.
Chennai and Hyderabad are already on work in this space. The IT campuses that
dot the areas of Bangalore, Mysore, Mangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Coimbatore ,
Kochi and Trivandrum are exciting locations that resemble something
transplanted from the concrete and steel and glass jungles of Manhattan. Mysore
boasts of an Infosys Learning Centre that stupefies a visitor in its sheer
scale and grandeur of effort.
Add to it as an icing on the cake
the super-specialty hospitals of the South, and the South-side story is
complete. Well nigh nearly! Well nigh nearly, because the South is still a
work-in-progress region, and there is plenty to come.
In sheer terms of per capita
income, which is a function of education, employment opportunities and indeed
the competition that abounds to get jobs, the South is a special place as well.
TN led the per capita income stakes for FY 2010 in the South with INR
62,499. The per capita income of Kerala
stood at INR 59,179. Andhra Pradesh stood at a robust INR 51,025. and Karnataka followed at INR 50,676. This
data needs to be seen in sync with the highs and lows in India, with Goa at the
top with 1,32, 719 and Bihar bringing the rear with INR 16,119.
The South is a fully-loaded consumptive
location as well. Armed with per capita income that is robust, a media-exposure
that is total and stable jobs that bring comfort, the South is a nice place to
be if you are a marketer of a two-wheeler or a tank top for that matter. The
market is wide open. Wide open to welcome ideas that are traditional and ideas
that are modern as well.
The South is an exciting place to
be. In sheer population terms this is a region of 251 million stomachs that put
in 753 million plus meals in a single day. This is a region that drinks a lot
of coffee and tea and beverages of every kind, cold and hot. That’s 251 million
bladders to feed every day! Even the market for hair-oil is big. We have 251
million heads. Half of them women. And women with an average length of hair
that is all of 9.2 inches. Compare that with the average length of hair on a
Chinese woman: 3.1 inches! The market for hair oil and the market for shampoo
and 'shikhakai' alike are that much bigger out here. Touche!
The South is a special place. Yes
it is! Yes it is!
The author is a
brand-domain specialist and CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults Inc, a private label
consulting firm with a presence in the markets of the United Kingdom, Hong Kong
and the Indian sub-continent.
