Gurgaon

Long time. Again. I'm not making any promises about posting regularly henceforth any more.

I'm now in Gurgaon, and have been here for a week. And i'm pretty disappointed. Not bored mind you! I have a great room, a free wireless internet connection and Cable TV. But something's missing.


And it's not just about being away from the city I love. It's being in a city I hate. The first thing that I look out for in a city (apart from the nearest store which sells chilled beer) is a reason to feel a sense of belonging, a reason to take back fond memories home. And Gurgaon gives me absolutely no reason to do so.

Gurgaon (or Gudgaunva, in the local dialect) is a village that saw quite a sudden transformation. From arid farmland, Gurgaon has now turned into a concrete jungle, with many high rise apartment complexes and malls. As a result of the real estate speculation that ensued, there has been a steep rise in prices of almost everything, making it virtually impossible for a middle class society to thrive. Everything here seems to be in extremes, either you see very rich people or the very poor.

You can build cities our of bricks and mortar, plan it well enough to have broad roads, but you cannot give it a soul, a culture...... and that, exactly, is what Gurgaon lacks.