There are places in the world that do not behave the way theory predicts. Chennai is one of them. Tamil Nadu is among Indiaβs richer states. It is urbanised. It is educated. It is globally connected. And yet it retains a form of social cohesion and human reflex that hyper-capitalism usually dissolves.
This is not nostalgia. It is observation.
A Different Social Reflex
In much of the world shaped by late-stage capitalism, interaction is transactional by default. Help is conditional. Suspicion precedes generosity. Risk is individualised. In Chennai, the reflex is still different. People intervene without being asked. Strangers stop when something is wrong. Assistance is offered before motives are assessed. Money is often refused. This is not charity. It is social instinct. That instinct survives even in moments that theory says it should not: late nights, urban settings, infrastructural failure, ambiguity. The absence of alcohol matters. The presence of peer groups matters.
But more than anything, the cultural baseline matters.
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