Sleepless in Delhi

Delhi is huge, with every inch of space covered by buildings (Ridge would probably be, one of the few forested patches left in the city). But when one decided to go house hunting (we are thinking of giving our house a makeover and like the architect said that you need a high degree of tolerance to stick around .... so moving out seemed a more obvious thing to do) the actual picture is very dismal, not very many areas match the parameters of good, neat and peaceful living.

East and West were not on our radar, over populated with little infrastructure (if at all you can call it one) ... did not even pass muster for us to check out any dwellings there.

Central Delhi was undoubtedly the obvious choice ... the ideal place to live but rentals are mind boggling, and we simply had no intention to spend living in a temporary accommodation as much as it would perhaps cost us for the makeover. What was left was South Delhi - we already had a taste of South Delhi some years back ... thinking that it would be closer to hubby's workplace (Gurgaon), we had moved in to one of the so called posh South Delhi locality - a favorite among expats and embassy crowd. Our neighbors had some construction work going on at their place ... a pretty normal thing, but then there was a house behind ours (which was separated by the service lane), which too had some repairs going on. Sharp, 9 'o' clock in the morning the drilling machines would start and the noise between the two renovation sites was enough of 'jugalbandi' to deafen you - it did drive me crazy enough and it seemed endless, to switch back to my former residence. A sensible move because six months later when I visited the place we had temporarily lived in, the work next door was still in full swing, in fact they had enlarged the renovations they had planned and it was filled with construction labor and to add to the chaos the house facing ours (opposite the road) was being broken down to build swanky 'designer floors'. This time when the hubby suggested the option of going back, I shuddered imagining the nightmare the place would be with constant 'builder activity'. 

Apartments next to the Yamuna bed seemed a suitable option; they were central and offered all the amenities of a gated community. They had been built in 2012 and served as Commonwealth Games Village, used to house the players from various countries. They did get a bad press at that time and people were reluctant to move in to begin with, but given the space crunch in the city, families have started moving in - and honestly the place is more spruced up since then and is quite nicely maintained - green and open. The apartments are pretty compact and encourage minimalist living ... storage space is limited to a couple of closets. This suits me fine with my limited wardrobe, but not for the gen next ... my daughter probably would have to hold a yard sale to do away with half of her wardrobe if she were to ever think of moving in here.

CWG seemed nice, but too many Towers have been squeezed into a limited space ...  right now one of the better places to move considering our limited options but once it fills up, the place could well turn into a hell hole unless space and privacy is not high on one's agenda. We still haven’t struck it off !!

We also explored Noida, maybe it was my UP roots beckoning me - it was a complex on the Expressway ... (made by one of the better known builders of this satellite township) one of the earliest to come up in the area, and it showed - the outer facade looked worn out and so did the flats -the place itself was a maze ... like Jantar Mantar's 'bhool bhulaiya' - if nothing, it sure guarantees to keep you fit if the walk from the car park to the apartment was anything to go by. On the way back from Noida, a bunch of guys were trying to flag cars down posing as roadside sellers and seemingly harassing the car owners ... we didn't need any further proof that Noida was not the place for us - the law and order situation here scares the hell out of you.

Next Saturday was spent exploring the likes of Park Place, Mayfair and Central Park of Gurgaon - we conjured up images of a little London or New York in our midst. Truth hit us home when we saw them ....the surroundings were a far cry from anything even remotely close to the Big Apple or Central London. 

Truth is not far to seek - Delhi has been killed by the greed of the politicians in cohoots with land sharks. Permitting  builder floors was the death knell of this once, historically and culturally rich city which was open and green all around.

After a whole day of house hunting, we had a new found respect for our apartment, the worn out patches seemed a minor aberration and my kitchen minus its modular status still gleamed - not posh, nor swanky, but it was home. It did not take much to realize that we should be grateful for what we have ... it was warm and welcoming, I think the renovation would be on hold for some time till we find a utopian home. 

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