off the beaten track

“We were not alone,almost every family in our village had suffered heavily. The land here wasn’t very fertile in the first place,then came the flood. The water receded in three weeks but because of the flood,we had to work doubly as hard in the years to come to overcome those losses,” he says,creases on his forehead deepening.

Satpal doesn’t have any agricultural land these days,but his family isn’t struggling to make ends meet either. Far from it. Having received a compensation of Rs 1.50 crore for his share — and a plot in the soon-to-be-developed residential area — he,in fact,won’t have to worry about subsistence again. Neither do many others like him at Atta Gujran,which has undergone a metamorphosis from being a humble village of 4000,14 km from Greater Noida (nearly 50 km from Delhi) to being the Formula One neighbourhood,with the Indian Grand Prix scheduled to be held next door at the Budh International Circuit on October 30.

A different world

For a glamorous and elitist sport,it will be a unique stopover. While the facility that is coming up is as impressive as anywhere else in the world,some of the surroundings will be unlike any other the circus might have seen.

A world far removed from the Monaco harbour or Yas Marina where the rich and the famous sun-bathe on their yachts,but where half-naked kids jump into muddy ponds from atop buffaloes. An intriguing Third World F1 race if one cares to look deep inside.

The analysis as to how this backdrop will add value to the sport will begin once the smell of burning rubber fades after October 30; now,however,is the right time to study how the sport has affected the lives of those on the periphery here.

To begin with,a number of cemented houses have sprouted in the past three years,but superficially,village asthetics haven’t changed much,and nor has the rustic nature of most residents. The main road inside the village is as unmotorable as ever,with cows and stray dogs further clogging it up. But unlike a few years ago,they now coexist,with among others things,SUVs.

“Earlier,we used to have problems finding brides for our boys. The village was remote and the connectivity poor,hence people used to very reluctantly marry off their daughters here,” points out Satpal,before adding with an unmistakable hint of pride: “Now they consider it to be an honour. Thanks to this car-race.”

“What do they do by racing these cars,by the way?” he asks,before adding with a smile: “Our boys race them all the time these days.”

In four years since the F1 project was mooted — right at their doorsteps — life in Atta has changed. For better for some,worse for others.

Unfortunate sons

For every Satpal who became a millionaire overnight in the village,there is also a Mahesh — left behind in this gold rush. He too had land,three acres of it,although it was a bit far from the racetrack. But in terms of physical displacement,it’s just a couple of kilometres; but figuratively it could be lightyears away.

The changing course of the Yamuna rendered Atta’s Mahesh’s farmland in Haryana,and it meant he missed out on compensation as the well as the subsequent realty boom.

“Even the milkman I know made Rs 30 lakh. Everyone else around me made money but I couldn’t. And I don’t know who to blame,” says the stockily-built Mahesh,clad in half-pants,fanning himself with his vest in the opressive 45-degree heat.

It doesn’t help that he and Satpal used to be thick friends until a few years ago,before they ceased to be in the same economic bracket. The backslapping equation has changed now; he has respect for Satpal,who in turn has sympathy for the 33-year old.

“Wo aage badh gaya,main zindgi ki daud mein pichhad gaya (He moved forward,while I was left behind in this race of life),” he adds philosophically.

It’s through a grocery-cum-paan shop that he feeds his family of nine. “Thanks to the labourers working on the track,I make just about enough on a daily basis. “I hope it (business) will kick-up once the track is complete and people start coming. I’m told thousands will come to watch it,” Mahesh says,only half-askingly,looking in the direction of the under-construction Grand Stand.

Backmarkers

Not everyone looks at the mega construction site with hope,however. Baburam,37,does it either with disgust or a sense of resignation. A farm labourer,he used to work in the fields for a living but the large-scale land aquisition for F1 and a number of residential townships means there is little agricultural activity left in the area.

His family of six stays in one cramped room on a plot owned by a village landlord. In return,Baburam doubles up as a labourer and a domestic help.

“Hum to kabhi daud mein the hi nahi to pichhadte kya (we were never in the race,so how can we get left behind?),” he replies when asked if he also feels like Mahesh.

“Hamare paas zameen hi nahi thi kabhi jo muaawza milta (we had no land in the first place,so there was no question of compensation).”

But he does feel left out,though.

“We did hope that we would get some kind of employment or work at the F1 site. But they don’t want us,because we ask for Rs 200-a-day. They prefer cheap labour from other states. Besides they fear that locals might form a union,” he says,explaining that in a 4000 strong village,there are at least 200 like him who got nothing.

Half-a-kilometre from the village,a group of labourers from Bihar relax under a makeshift tent near the track site. “We’re from Gaya,” responds Munna,when asked the where-from query. “We’ve worked for a month,and are paid Rs 140-a-day.” So how did they get work at the F1 track in Greater Noida? As it turns out,the contractor who hired them,too,is from Gaya.

Dream merchants

with only four months to go for the Grand Prix,it’s a race against time at the track site. There is a renewed sense of urgency at Budh and the progress is visible. Back in Greater Noida as well,there’s a constant buzz about the event,not quite dissimilar to Ground Zero.

Students discuss it at bus stops,IT professionals over cups of coffees in cafeteria. But the ones who talk about it the most,almost non-stop,are those who can’t tell a DRS (Drag Reduction System) from a DRS (Decision Review System): the property dealers.

“Guarantee ke saath keh sakta hun,this is the best place to invest,” asserts Yog Raj,an estate broker,sitting inside his plush office,reeling off figures seldom less than eight digits.

“I tell prospective buyers that if you want to live here,it has an amazing connectivity and if you are looking for returns,once the first Formula One race is conducted,the prices will shoot up. It will be one of the most-sought after land in the NCR.”

He reveals that prices have already appreciated 25 percent since September 2010,when the race was included in the calendar.

Hardselling F1 to his customers harder than perhaps Bernie Ecclestone is to his,the forty-something Yog,who claims to have sold 250 plots around the track,flaunts how even the homepage of his website has F1 in the background.

Does he follow Formula One the sport by any chance? He hems and haws. “Yes I do,” he blurts out. Which team? “Well I have lately started watching it on TV,” he clarifies.

On his website,a Ferrari seems to be breaking away from the pack that includes among others a McLaren,two of the most recognisable race cars in the world.

In Yog’s eyes,however,they are all same: vehicles of personal growth.

Budh’s race against time

Barely a kilometre or two after leaving Greater Noida,alongside the under construction Yamuna Expressway,one can see a humongous umbrella-like structure coming up in the distance. The Grand Stand and the paddock at the Budh International Circuit is gradually nearing completiton. With the race scheduled to take place on October 30,the organisers believe they still have ample time to finish the project.

But while they insist that they have four months and that the work is on track,a good monsoon — as has been forecast — over the next two months can peg back the preparations,like it did before the Commonwealth Games last year.

Nevertheless,JPSI,the race promoters,aren’t sweating over it,at least not in public.

“The track will be complete by the end of July,” said a JPSI official. “We expect the homologation (FIA’s approval) to take place in the second week August. Grand Stand,paddock,hospitality and press facilities will be done by September.”

Meanwhile,the ticketing process is set to begin next month,with the cheapest three-day passes likely to cost Rs 3000 and going all the way up to Rs 50,000 for the premium Grand Stand seats.