The words on everyone’s lips as we closed 2023 were “like a wow”.  This phrase has today got into our urban lexicon – it is commonplace now for us to compliment someone saying “you are looking like a wow”.  Who would have thought that a West Delhi boutique owner Jasmeen Kaur would fire up our collective imagination in such a manner? 

But it is just one more indicator of changing India.  

Gone are the days when everyone strived to be a homogenised ideal of “Convent educated”, urbane  English-speaking  person.  If you sported a Tamil twang or a Bihari drawl,  you were imitated and ridiculed. But, today, these accents are loved – yes, they are imitated and parodied, but with affection, not mockery. Indians are unapologetically and with great gusto embracing desi-ness  --  the unique lingos and dialects, traditional clothing styles, dances, culture, rituals and the distinctive quirks that make us who we are.  Regional pride is shining, ethnic is beautiful and local diversity is being discovered. 

Diving into our roots

Recently, I set out to do a piece on changing food trends for the newspaper I write for. And one of the trends that emerged sharply was interest and curiousity about hyperlocal Indian fare.  It’s become a matter of delight to boast about having Poha from Indore,  Kebabs from Lucknow, pyaz kachori from Jaipur and so on. And this is the trend that a Zomato has tapped into with its Intercity Legends offering –   or a brand like Tata Tea with its hyperlocal Desh Ki Dhadkan/ Desh ke Dhaage tea campaign that celebrates the ethos and artistry of different regions. 

If you trawl through Instagram – a true pointer to trending pop culture –  you meet food content creators who are diving into their roots to bring you rare flavours of their cuisine. So you have TamBrahm food influencers bringing you authentic recipes ranging from kootu to kara kozhumbu learnt from their paatis (grandmothers), creators from Bihar bringing you ghugni chura, Jhansi bloggers showcasing dishes like Dal ka Tharula or Maharashtrian creators different types of thechcha. Quite different from the dosa, idli, litti chokha or paav bhaaji paradigm. 

Indians are warmly embracing diversity in food as well as festivals. A few years ago, people in the north scarcely knew what Onam was . Today, it has become fashionable to go for an Onasadya flaunting cream coloured clothing. Come Navaratri, everyone is a dandiya artiste and at Chhath, people want friends to get them back thekua . 

Quick commerce has been quick to identify India’s love for festivals and diverse food and is tweaking offerings on a daily basis to meet the needs of every regional celebration.  Several marketers are serving hyperlocal festive ads but have not yet figured ways of monetising this interest. Here definitely is an opportunity.

A unique identity

If you look at the fashion trends, they also point to a more assured embrace of our roots. The silhouette may be western, but the attire takes inspiration from Indian traditions. A loose salwar is worn with a shirt. A saree is worn with a jacket. No longer are we blindly aping the West, but carving our own confident styles  - and a host of D2C brands are showing us the inspiration.  Saree brand Suta, for instance, has got quite a few millennials wearing sarees in different styles – with a belt, over jeans and so on, reviving love for the ethnic garment, and making sales spurt.  Several apparel brands are finally designing for the Indian body type and not just offering us sizes that prevail in the west. To win the Indian consumer, this sort of tweak is now necessary.

Is it the wave of nationalism that is sweeping the world that is leading to this trend? That’s one factor. But a bigger factor is the explosion of content with the number of digital creators crossing 100 million in 2023 according to various reports. Content from all corners of the country, and especially the hinterland, is flooding the screens with furious velocity -- and every class of Indian is using digital platforms like youtube and instagram for uninhibited self expression.  For brands, these hyperlocal micro influencers are a great opportunity to do personalised marketing at scale. 

(Chitra Narayanan is an editorial consultant with The Hindu Businessline. She tracks brands, consumers and marketing strategies.)