India's wealthy flaunt riches as fashion industry booms

NEW DELHI - In booming India, being rich is not enough. For the moneyed classes, it's increasingly about flaunting their wealth in ways typical of the nouveaux riches in Russia, China or the Middle East.

India's well-heeled used to be more shy about displaying their wealth in the decades after independence from Britain when a tightly-controlled economy limited the opportunities for showing off.

But many prosperous Indians are embracing conspicuous consumption, turning their backs on the mantra of frugality espoused by independence hero Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation who eschewed possessions.