Eight years is a very long time in the Twitter-age. Enough for Gurgaon to completely transform from a mere satellite town where Delhiites occasionally ventured for cheap booze to the Millennium City, where Delhiites now hanker for weekend reservations at the uber-cool Cyber Hub. Hah!!
For me personally, it has been a rollercoaster ride with my adopted city ever since I moved here in the year 2000, when the winds of change had just about begun to blow. Roughly 8 years ago though, I quit my job as a journalist to travel the world as a trailing spouse along with my 5-year-old.
In the first leg we moved to Bangkok, the city of smiles. A refreshing journey that took us to the crystal waters of white sand beaches through the lush green tropical hillside redolent with the lemony aroma of Thai herbs. Then, onwards to the peace and tranquility of Buddhist culture, interspersed with the calls of street food vendors and tourists haggling with the pavement sarong seller.
From green, humid and buzzing Bangkok we moved base to sandy, dry and sleepy Cairo. A complete change, but one that beautifully brought together the yin and yang of self discovery as we got to travel the globe and make friends from a range of nationalities: Swiss, Danish, Spanish, Russian, Japanese, Thai, Malaysian, New Zelanders, South African, British, American, you name it.
Despite our journeys, however, the umbilical with Gurgaon never snapped and we kept coming back nostalgically to Gurgaon for our dose of spices from Sadar Bazaar, Jaipur kurtis from Galleria, delightful baubles from melas at Epicentre, dhoda from Om Sweets, farsaan from Phase 1 and, of course, meeting up with our chaaddi-buddies over platefuls of chicken tikkas and the unparalleled Old Monk and Coke.
So, of course, we were super excited when we got a chance to settle down once again in Gurgaon. It was like a grand homecoming. But like I said at the very beginning, 8 years is indeed a long time and so much has changed in my city. Let me start with the good, there’s a whole list: Ultra modern condos; some of the best schools and hospitals; outstanding extra-curricular facilities, including music, drama, golf, equestrian, swimming, cricket coaching; easy availability of the most exotic ingredients for the local and expat community, right from delectable meats to organic greens and glocal condiments; a host of high-tech office spaces, happening clubhouses, adventure arenas, malls, the metro, shopping arcades; and a range of service providers.
The not-so-good list, sadly, is equally long, cramped mainly with the fallout of lop-sided development, where basic infrastructure fails to keep pace with the growth of population and modernity, as evident from the daily traffic snarls despite wide roads; water and electricity shortages; gradual destruction of the city’s green lungs; parking pains; big question mark on garbage disposal and general cleanliness; security issues, especially women’s safety; encroachment, stray dogs and monkey menace, haphazard slum growth, depleting water table, the problem of illegal migrants etc., etc.
Having said that, I am also hopeful, very hopeful, in fact, that my city will eventually overcome the irritants to emerge as a shining example of the new age metropolis with growing awareness among the locals and the concerted efforts of the conscientious citizens’ groups. So here’s to another wonderful stint in my beloved city… Go Gurgaon…. You Rock!
(The writer believes she learns her life’s lessons mainly from her travels and by interacting with interesting people she meets along the way. For the rest, she’s a University topper in Communication & Journalism that landed her fun stints at The Times of India, The Hindustan Times, Bangkok Prep International, Happy Green Egypt, I am Gurgaon, Oasis Egypt, etc.)
