Published in MetroNow on October 4, 2007
The other night I met up with a group of young working people who had all moved to Gurgaon only recently. And there was one thing they had in common: they all hated Gurgaon. Now being a Gurgaon stalwart, this saddened me a little. I have never lived in Delhi so I can’t really make a comparison, but I like Gurgaon. It is home. It used to be peaceful, with less people, less cars and more green. Anyway, while some of these guys agreed it was peaceful, it was not peace they were looking for. Most of them had shifted here because their workplace was here but all of them felt that apart from work there was nothing to do. ‘Life starts and ends at the malls’ grumbled one, while another recounted a horrifying tale of how a Qualis banged her car last week on NH 8 and which is why she is understandably grounded. Most of them spend very long hours at work, out of choice, because there’s nothing to do except go for a movie or eat out.
‘There isn’t even place to just hang out. At least Delhi has a Dilli Haat’, said X, while Y was reminiscing about sitting at a café in Carter Road in Mumbai overlooking the Arabian Sea. This is precisely one of the reasons I was happy that the café culture may finally be coming to Gurgaon. Not everyone’s idea of fun is to go sit at a crowded mall after a hectic week at work. In fact, it’s hardly any working person’s idea of fun.
What we do need is a culture. Something. A poetry club, a venue where off beat arty movies can be screened, a play, a concert, a picnic spot…
Worse still is that while we are neighbours of the capital we can’t benefit from the proximity because of the traffic woes. So we have to think 20 times before going off to Siri Fort for a 6.30 p.m. movie or to the India Habitat Centre to catch a recital. I have said all of this before and I can only reiterate it because it seems to have become the prevailing sentiment.
Not to forget the dissatisfaction with the lack of public transport and the mentality of the general crowd. Most women don’t feel safe here and aren’t even comfortable wearing their clothes of choice to a disco.
Now if you can’t be what you want to be, then a place will never feel like home. So we can get all the corporates of the world to set up offices here, but what we are unable to provide is quality of life.
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2 comments:
I was chatting with some one online yesterday and she commented upon the general malaise afflicting everyone living in DLF/Sushant Lok etc. I am glad that my memories of open fields, no Phase V .. just cycling down old roads and meeting random villagers are intact!
The benefit of being neighbours with the action spots will soon be resolved, presumably, once the connectivity issues are taken care of, and the roadmap in theory resembles the roadmap in practice.
For now, somebody needs to address the frustration n fumes at the jammed border crossings, where the traffic has become so heavy that the premium on patience and cooperation has never been higher.
Traffic, some say, tells you something about a basic orientation. Does every vehicle want to block each other and honk themselves sick, or are they disposed towards the elementary courtesies that allow everyone to reach their destination peacefully?
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