Its that time of the year again- the time every tenant (every tenant in my city anyway) dreads. The time that gives rise to panic, anxiety attacks and confusion, which leads to more panic, more anxiety attacks and more confusion and…. It’s a vicious circle really! Yes, its THAT time- MOVING time!!!
If you’ve only ever lived in your own house, you have a lot to thank God for! Seriously. And if you live in Mumbai in your own house….. you’re smirking right now, aren’t you?? Yeah, well, smirk away. I would too, if I were you!
Unfortunately, I don’t bathe in gold, so owning a house in Mumbai is out of the question. I’m just a pushed- around, ill-treated, swindled-in-every-way-possible tenant. An exaggeration? Well maybe, just a tad…
But really, life’s not a bowl of peaches when every 11 months you have to pick up your bags and move out, leaving it all behind- those evasive neighbors whom you finally managed to glimpse and greet only last month, the grocery store downstairs which NEVER had anything you asked for, the newspaperman who always punctually delivered the newspaper AFTER you had left for work- the list goes on. Pathetic as it may sound, they all become indispensable once you get used to the mundane routine. Imagine having to search for all this/ these afresh. Oh, the agony!!
The good news is that at least finding a house on rent in this city is not difficult- Rather, I’d say it’s awfully easy! Yes, its awfully easy if you don’t mind living in a space the size of a shoebox or cooking in the gallery (for the kitchen is IN the gallery- what were they thinking??) or stacking suitcases, etc. on top of the wardrobe (for there is no other storage space) or calling that narrow ledge outside the window a “balcony” (what a joke!). Either that, or be ready to shell out rents which can only be termed as obscene. The daylight robbery doesn’t stop there- you do, of course, have to pay a fat sum of money i.e. “The Deposit”, to the landlord upfront. Of course.
And now (sigh), its time for me to do just all that- search for a new place to call home, haggle with the landlord over the rent and the deposit as though my life depended on it, pack up my little world, move, unpack and begin a new life again- In short, Panic, Anxiety Attacks and Confusion!!!
Hopefully, once all this is done, I’ll be able to sit back and relax- well, for the next 11 months anyway!
P.S.: For S, who dreads moving even more than I do 🙂
Neetika's Corner 