Scholarly chroniclers often cite many civilisations of the distant past in glorious terms. Indus Valley Civilisation of more than thirty centuries vintage shines in the august company of Roman as well as Greek Civilisations that existed about 3,000 years, both resting in the pages of their history. Other regions of the world, including China, Japan and South America too find their due place in the chronicles. The parameters considered for differential ratings of the past civilisations put the spotlight on Indus Valley Civilisation marked by distinguished scholarly pursuits of the people of that genre. That spotlight has lost its brightness over the past several centuries bringing the land’s present generation to a pathetic state of Indians at large looking to the West in pursuit of prosperity in total neglect of its rich heritage to be traced only in ancient texts. The heightened desire to urbanise the land with disdain is ample testimony to the ongoing change in civilisation of our times.

The most commonly felt and also expressed desires of people at large are first to get rich and then to live long to enjoy the comforts of life, possibly reaching to 100 years without getting bugged by ill health. The rising presence of people sparing no efforts to fulfill these desires in urban spaces is all that civilised chaos for all to cause and suffer.

Monarchs, dictators, chieftains, successful entrepreneurs, hereditary landlords, bureaucrats in high posts, fraudsters and so on, not to forget the land’s crop of elected representatives of people in present times command riches accruing to them in a wide range of diverse means. The first three classes of the foregoing mix of the wealthy sections having witnessed their  shrinking presence, the rest are not only having a field-day but also to be found invariably in urban spaces comprising metropolises, mega cities and towns hosting chaotic scenes of different degrees. The rich fraternity, commonly identified as crorepathis or billionaires (in modern parlance) is reportedly on the rise both globally (including China) and nationally in India, unfazed by the worsening chaos, in veiled civilisation.

India’s billionaire count is expected to triple in the next decade securing the country third rank for their number in the world (USA-884, China-357, India-357), currently said to be 2,252. Which class of the rich listed above will dominate is not a puzzle. For the rest, one is prompted to cite the saying: If wishes were horses, beggars would ride them.