Neighbors, we wish and pray that should be helpful only when we seek, shouldn't be nosy, shouldn't be noisy, shouldn't be curious, shouldn't be (NEVER EVER PLEASE) jealousy. ..Shouldn't be aggressive, shouldn't be encroachers, shouldn't be stalkers, shouldn't be ...list is long..
I used live in an old BDA colony in Chandra Layout, which used to be a humble place of dream location for Mangaloreans (because of proximity to Mangalore highway), retired teachers and clerks from places all over Karnataka. Unlike strictly vegetarian demography's of Jayanagar or Basavangudi, this area had simplicity, humbleness and little spiciness of Coastal restaurants for Mangalorean restau-preneurs. Well, as years passed by, area gets more crowded and humble single floor houses grew tall as much as up to 5 with their new owners and the problems grew 5 fold too.
Things get dearer when they are scarce or rare.. yes? I always wished and day dreamt that all my neighbors should be so rich that I don't get noticed when a new TV or Fridge delivered at my door step, nobody gets curious when an average car of price range much below BMW/MERC gets parked near my gate, nobody counts how many times pizza delivery boy bells my door in a week, how many packages per day flipkart, amazon delivery boys drop in, how many times airport taxi has a pick up. ...well...
All until a millionaire buys a 4 storey house that was newly built, sharing my compound. Bangalore is a millionaire hub. When the house was built we had normal troubles of noise and dust for 10 months. It was ready in no time. Now genie granted a millionaire neighbor and opening an altogether different experience. As such new neighbor and I are equals. He is multi millionaire by global standard currency like pound and I, that of single local currency. That is only and a galaxy of difference. The new guy rents an adjacent house on the lane and changes every standard of the lane. Domestic help raises her charges, flower, prices at vegetable cart, electrician/plumber charges, even so, pizza delivery boys expectation of tips..yea..now 5 storey tall...
The new house was just envy of few and new guy goes on a demolition drive to 'customize' as per his standards. The stylish wooden works gets dumped in no time... walls and windows under concrete cutting machine... the TRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrr. GRRRRRRRrrrrrr... STREEEEEMmmmm.. sounds were full of my ears and head making me and better half dumb and deaf. We spoke in sign language and wahtsapp living in the same house.. our house was full of concrete dust and soon they filled our lungs..In the meanwhile I had several battles with mason, laborer, carpenter, plumbers over dust, noise, wreckage of walls, encroachment of my terrace.. and at every BHHOOOM...I ran to see my compound behind... it looked like a fresh bomb blast debris... and at every instance of my calls to HOYSALA (POLICE), they promptly arrived to collect penalty...
2 years pass by... several change of plans ...in between concrete cutting machines don't stop..so do my complaints.. I try to reach the owner. His driver of a BMW (top end version) arrives, dressed up in a neatly cut safari suit and a latest version of mobile phone in his hands (I guess the price... more than that of mine.. ) gives the same excuse in few shorts words and vanishes at the same speed. The rich guy is SO busy that he arrives by late night and leaves by dawn..and no one has seen him picking his newspaper by the gate... and I don't give up my effort to confront him face to face..
Time passes by and world welcomes corona and gets locked up inside...and so do I. TRRRRs/GRRRRS/STREEMs/BHOOMs dont stop.. in fact numbs my family's brain. No work from home, no con call, in fact no calls from the house and we seek who could we go to and stay with.. Well.. people feared corona may transfer by phone..they unwelcome phone calls, they unwelcome people.. they welcome only hand sanitizers and masks.. When there was news of corona death tolls and of hospitals bills surpassing that of 1 or 2 cancer patients', nobody is empathizing our agonies and woes of dust and noise...expected is that free advise for a sample..."it is expected you see.. for a short while .. just be a good neighbor.. when the 5 storeys get ready..just see the land value..your networth goes up.."
After celebrating 3rd anniversary of noise and dust, my better half and I, decided to quarantine ourselves from dust and noise, went on relocation drive...trying to love, the neighborhood once was humble and simple, this time distantly... like rest of the world.. staying at far away home.
I remotely praying that all millionaires who think of this area... "Please EXIT"...
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