ABSTRACT
Conspicuous consumption is one of the key markers of the new, affluent middle classes in neoliberal India in their desire to be visible. However, as highlighted in the Introduction, the knowledge of how to display wealth, as well as selecting particular events and stages for this display, is required for such performative and public self-affirmation. The city of Delhi has undergone major spatial restructuring in order to turn itself into a comfortable and spectacular space for consumption (see Srivastava 2009). Shopping as pleasure and leisure activity, as well as national progress, demands new sites (malls), efficient mobility (roads and parking), and the desire of individuals to belong to a group of people who want to see and be seen (flânerie).
