Learning from my last deal of being forced to live in a 'coop', I wanted a better accommodation in a better locality.
And so started the new innings of "My House Hunting". In a month and half I checked more than 150 places, in all possible locations - even the posh colonies. But the only positives in this 'goose chase' were the 'varied' experiences to my repertoire but no house to live (with the possibility of being without a roof as my previous landlord wants me out before the ends of the month). Experiences that made me realise, understand, acknowledge and accept, that I am an alien here.
Like last time, I believed finding a house would be an easy task in Delhi, a metropolis of more than 15 million souls. But right now, after another disappointing day, when I visited 16 houses, met as many land lords and listened to as many excuses - for not renting me the premises.
The excuses were unique, interesting and innovative. For instance, I went to check a house in S-Block in GK-1... I liked the house and landlord liked me, and the broker liked us both. The deal was stuck, 15K as rent, company lease, three months deposit and one months rent as advance.... Not to forget the 15K that the broker was eyeing. All of us were happy, until the bumpy road started to appear.
I didn't get your name, the chirpy landlord quipped.
I introduced myself.
"You are Muslim", he shot back.
Yes, I answered.
That's OK... We had many Muslims as tenants, and had good relations with them; he added...You don't seem to be from Delhi. Where are you originally from?
I am from Kashmir, I replied, with the ominous apprehensions creeping in my mind, and the face of the Landlord.
After a brief pause, he opened his mouth only to utter the feared words...
I will give you my final answer in a day or so; we don't rent out place to Kashmiris. Let me consult my CA.
Chartered Accountant - What business has a CA with the deal? A lawyer would be OK, police understood, but a CA... I tried to find the answer and am still groping in dark about it.
And then came the final shot. I am sorry; I cannot rent you our house. I knew the reasons now and didn't even try to plead my case.... A Muslim and a Kashmiri, it is a deadly combination, and I was facing its effects.
This was just one of the sixteen excuses that I encountered in a single day, and all of them came towards the end of the routine interviews. Every time, the landlord liked me as a person, was impressed by my job profile, was happy with the rent amount but the result was same.
And right now, the only feelings I have, is of hurt, distraught, and derange, something I have never felt so intense. Despite the heartening bhai-bhai slogans and "Atoot ang" (inseparable part) rhetoric, I know that it is not easy to bridge the gaps.
Not everyone however is like that.... Met some of the most wonderful people, who renewed my faith in humanity (but even they could not provide me what I wanted). But such gems are rare and exceptions.... And exceptions never rule. The majority still stands highly polarized, bringing even more mistrust, acrimony and hate to the world. And amid all this hatred, I stand alone, waiting now, for someone to carry me back. Back to where I came from, back to my hometown, back to my roots where I belong.
Today, I realised again... I don't belong here.first published:July 21, 2006, 19:23 ISTlast updated:July 21, 2006, 19:23 IST
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House hunting is never an easy job to do. It is an art, which need years of expertise and patience to master, and I am still knave at it. A relative newcomer, I should say, for this is the only second time in my life, when I am hunting for a place for myself - last time I did was more than a year back, when I landed in Delhi in search of a life and better future.
Learning from my last deal of being forced to live in a 'coop', I wanted a better accommodation in a better locality.
And so started the new innings of "My House Hunting". In a month and half I checked more than 150 places, in all possible locations - even the posh colonies. But the only positives in this 'goose chase' were the 'varied' experiences to my repertoire but no house to live (with the possibility of being without a roof as my previous landlord wants me out before the ends of the month). Experiences that made me realise, understand, acknowledge and accept, that I am an alien here.
Like last time, I believed finding a house would be an easy task in Delhi, a metropolis of more than 15 million souls. But right now, after another disappointing day, when I visited 16 houses, met as many land lords and listened to as many excuses - for not renting me the premises.
The excuses were unique, interesting and innovative. For instance, I went to check a house in S-Block in GK-1... I liked the house and landlord liked me, and the broker liked us both. The deal was stuck, 15K as rent, company lease, three months deposit and one months rent as advance.... Not to forget the 15K that the broker was eyeing. All of us were happy, until the bumpy road started to appear.
I didn't get your name, the chirpy landlord quipped.
I introduced myself.
"You are Muslim", he shot back.
Yes, I answered.
That's OK... We had many Muslims as tenants, and had good relations with them; he added...You don't seem to be from Delhi. Where are you originally from?
I am from Kashmir, I replied, with the ominous apprehensions creeping in my mind, and the face of the Landlord.
After a brief pause, he opened his mouth only to utter the feared words...
I will give you my final answer in a day or so; we don't rent out place to Kashmiris. Let me consult my CA.
Chartered Accountant - What business has a CA with the deal? A lawyer would be OK, police understood, but a CA... I tried to find the answer and am still groping in dark about it.
And then came the final shot. I am sorry; I cannot rent you our house. I knew the reasons now and didn't even try to plead my case.... A Muslim and a Kashmiri, it is a deadly combination, and I was facing its effects.
This was just one of the sixteen excuses that I encountered in a single day, and all of them came towards the end of the routine interviews. Every time, the landlord liked me as a person, was impressed by my job profile, was happy with the rent amount but the result was same.
And right now, the only feelings I have, is of hurt, distraught, and derange, something I have never felt so intense. Despite the heartening bhai-bhai slogans and "Atoot ang" (inseparable part) rhetoric, I know that it is not easy to bridge the gaps.
Not everyone however is like that.... Met some of the most wonderful people, who renewed my faith in humanity (but even they could not provide me what I wanted). But such gems are rare and exceptions.... And exceptions never rule. The majority still stands highly polarized, bringing even more mistrust, acrimony and hate to the world. And amid all this hatred, I stand alone, waiting now, for someone to carry me back. Back to where I came from, back to my hometown, back to my roots where I belong.
Today, I realised again... I don't belong here.
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