Only in a dream

The classifieds are full of them. Decent, outright sales of BRHKs in posh localities like Salisbury Park, Kalyaninagar and Kondhwa in Pun...

The classifieds are full of them. Decent, outright sales of BRHKs in posh localities like Salisbury Park, Kalyaninagar and Kondhwa in Pune. Heavenly opportunities, modest rentals, affordable prices for luxurious homes, screams each and every advertisement, which after nearly a year8217;s thorough scrutiny now remain well ensconced in the grey and white cells of our brains.A dream house it may not have left us with, but the hunt for that cozy space sure widened our social contacts. We soon became a hot number at exhibitions, property sales and each broker vied with the other for the honour of having met us first! We renewed old ties, met long lost gallifriends who now had reasonably tolerable flats in yet another posh8217; locality, Fatimanagar.

The days stretched to months and we decided to get married. Well, ho-me sweet home would come later. The double hunt had now intensified. A telephone diary was not required as my better half had memorised the phone numbers of pra- ctically all the builders and real estateagents in the area of our choice.

We scouted the area till not a single colony was left unexplored. If one home looked promising enough, unfortunately it had no corporation water. Borewell water was certainly out. It ain8217;t good enough for my hair, leave alone my stomach, I complained to hubby dear. The neighbours in a certain building were so nice, but the owner of the flat for sale refused to compromise on the price.

My husband, a very patient man indeed, grinned in amused scorn at my impatience but refused to walk out if the builder arrived two hours late for an appointment. Yep, we had a tight budget, already extended twice at consecutive deals which later fell through. So how is it that when real estate prices have hit rock bottom as it is often proclaimed that it is difficult to gain even a toehold in a decent Bed-Room-Hall-Kitchen in a fairly reasonable locality?

Brokers and galli-friends pacified us. Prices are all set to dip further, don8217;t worry. One well-dressed guy in a swanky office evenpromised us a beautiful 600 sq ft house. The only technical hitch was the building did not have the completion certificate nor was the society formed. Another showed us a really lovely flat alas, to be unanimously rejected due to its proximity to the crematorium.

I cried in desperation. He quietly accepted the inevitable. But kept up with the hunt. Days passed by. A message beeping on the pager 8220;Contact Mr Malkani for flat details8221; would suddenly accelerate my pulse rate. I crossed my fingers. Not daring to look at my husband, I wo-uld sheepishly run to give him the windcheater and wave a hopeful go-odbye from the balcony, as he kickstarted the bike.

Is it airy, is there a big balcony, is it facing the road, is there a garden in the society, is it on the first floor, is there a lift, how are the neighbours an endless stream of questions erupted after a dekko of each flat on sale. At times, the real estate agents even got into a row as to which one of them was the first of the lot to show us thedream home.If one agent Mrs Cooper was the legal eye, another Mrs Vaz was the colony gossip. 8220;Sha-bbirbhai8221; showed us some nice flats in his building, then lost interest in us. As for our galli friend Jude, poor chap, he would be at our beck and call, never mind then if his daughter had failed to get grace marks in one subject to clear the sixth standard.

Story continues below this ad

Now colleagues at the office offer sound advice and suggest opting for government quota flats after all, it is easy for a journalist to avail of one, ain8217;t it?. Loans, ha, no problem, they say. Maybe, maybe not. Who knows when the dream will come true. But certainly richer by the experience, we continue the search much like the song 8220;Do deewane shahar main8230; doondthe hai ek ashiaana.8221;