Ideal getaway, going, going, gone

Tucked neatly away from the chaos of the Capital, Santushti represents the ideal getaway that most of us always crave for but seldom mana...

Tucked neatly away from the chaos of the Capital, Santushti represents the ideal getaway that most of us always crave for but seldom manage. Flanked on either side by the diplomatic enclave and the Prime Minister8217;s residence, the exclusive complex is a 13-year-old tribute to the longing for cultivated solitude within the hurly-burly of metropolitan mania.

It is not quite real, like most other manicured things, but in all these years it has been there for all those who can afford it. It is not just an upmarket alternative to other shopping arcades. It is an experience. And the pre-fabricated units that house Good Earth, Ensemble, Full Circle, Ogaan, Claire8217;s and what have you are not just designer addresses. They are spots to be savoured for all that they offer. No wonder, Santushti is on the official roster, a magnet for all cash-rich tourists and a must-visit for those who love leisure with a capital L.

Soon, it will all be no more. Within two years, the Ministry of Defence, currently in charge of operations, is literally shutting shop. First there were charges of financial bungling which saw the exit of the Air Force Wives8217; Welfare Association from the management, though it was conceived and nurtured by them. And now six months later, comes the news that soon the entire project will collapse. And what are we left with? Picture shopping anywhere else in the city and you8217;ll see forbidding images of jostling for parking space, pushy salesmanship and competitive claptrap to lure money out of harried pockets. Picture closer-to-nature alternatives and you8217;ll see the multitudes that throng the Dilli Haat or the annual Surajkund Crafts Mela or even the various fairs that bring traffic to a halt around Pragati Maidan.

True, you cannot picture Santushti alongside these places. In fact, its existence matters little to those who shop in these markets or those who bargain for the last rupee on the sidewalks of Janpath. Yet, the denial of the concept that gave birth to Santushti is to force an untenable homogeneity on the social landscape of the city. It is to deny the eminently visible fact that the vibrant city of 13 million has many worlds, not of all of which are alien to Santushti. It is to deny the plurality of the social order that permits the co-existence of affluence with a deprived nation. It is to deny the capacity to conceive and turn imagination into exotic reality. And an island of polite privilege in a sea of flash.