- Declan Rowlands shared a video showing wealth disparity from a 5-star Chennai hotel gym window
- The video contrasts the luxury hotel and nearby slum-like buildings along the shoreline
- The post received over 12,000 views and sparked online discussions about poverty and coexistence
A foreign tourist has sparked a discussion online after sharing a video that highlights the stark contrast between wealth and poverty in India. Declan Rowlands, a content creator known for posting about health, food, and travel, uploaded a clip of himself working out at the gym of a luxury 5-star hotel in Chennai. While showing the stunning sea view from the hotel, he also pointed out the glaring disparity visible from his window. "The view I looked down on while squatting from my pristine 5-star hotel gym in India will tell you everything about the insane wealth divide here," read the text overlay on the video.
The video begins with Mr Rowlands doing his weight exercises at his hotel gym. Moments later, he pans the camera to reveal a wide, scenic view of the sea with crystal-clear blue waters. As the video progresses, he zooms in on the left side of the frame to show a cluster of buildings situated right along the shoreline. "Those buildings you see are practically slums. I've truly never experienced contrast like it," reads the text overlay on the clip.
"This view from the Smith machine summed up India's staggering wealth divide. I only use the phrase 'practically slums' to help emphasise the contrast," the content creator wrote in the caption of the post.
Since being shared, Mr Rowlands' video has accumulated more than 12,000 views. The post has sparked a discussion online.
"I'm from Chennai and in most Indian cities the concept of slums are meant to coexist with the residential population living there and these people are basically supporting the entire household work so the area which ur shooting this from MRC nagar, and I bet even the hotel would be employing a few from these humble dwellings. Over time these do get redeveloped but for the lower middle class," wrote one user.
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"You see the contrast here because the poor aren't hidden away in India. There is no shame in being poor here. Unlike certain developed countries in the west, there are no specific areas where only the poor reside, and certain areas meant only for the rich. Here we live together, rich and the poor, 5 star and the slums next to each other," commented another.
"Hypothetically tea-bagging the poor," remarked a third user.
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