Of being Single, working & looking out for a Home ;-)

On our way to aerobics class a friend of mine was sharing with me her shifting woes. She is single and shares an apartment with 2 more girls. Her new place is good but has usual problems like water supply, some errant guys at the end of street, cooking etc.

Her experience reminded me of my days in Ahmedabad. It was my first job and my mom was accompanying me to look out for a place to stay. I wanted to put up in a P.G. but Ahmedabad has very limited options of professional PG Accommodation. My mom found a working women hostel but I wasn’t ready for it. After having spent 6 years in hostel I wasn’t ready for any kind of restriction; be it on time or use of electronic items or food.

Finally we settled for the only available P.G. accommodation which my mom felt was pathetic as far as location was concerned but I was ready to adjust anywhere to stay away from hostel. Life was cool there but food was bad, people were bad & location as I said was pathetic. In such a scenario arrival of my college friend was a boon. She too had found a job in Ahmedabad and wanted to shift out of her sister’s house (she wanted to taste the fun of staying alone). So 2 months later I was yet again on a house hunt.

2 weeks down the line our broker cracked it. We had found a lovely place, though it meant staying with an old widow but the location was very good, the place was sunny, windy & neat. However what really nixed it for us was the jhoola in the living room also the landlady looked very sweet, ‘main tumhari dadi jaisi hoon' is what she had said numerous times.

In no time we shifted there and thus began the phase of our life in which

- We discovered the independent side of ours,
- Bought our first mobiles;
- Made an 11 pm trip to IIM which was way past our in-time which was 10 pm (of course without permission from the land lady),
- Did loads of vellagiri during the navratri season vaise for records have stayed in Ahmedabad for 5 good years but attended garba only once rest all time we used to just wander around.
- Discovered the real meaning of working
- Bought my zing & learned to drive.

But life was not all roses. Our landlady turned out to be a Saas type character straight out of an Ekta Kapoor serial. She was a miser of extreme order. Her promises that extra cupboards will be installed and not more than 2 girls in our room were never honored. With the crack of dawn she used to switch off the fans, her logic was the windows are huge & there is so much air why do you want to waste electricity. We were not allowed to close the door of our room, no loud music and what not. We had very little privacy to say so.

To add to our woes the new girls in our room and in other rooms were torture. The location & lack of better place however kept us at bay but once my friend moved out things changed for me. I was in no mood to live with a college going girl or some psycho. Thus I decided to pay double rent and kept the room to myself.

The land lady was still a torture but with time she had mellowed down and in a way had started depending on me & used to give enough space to me. There was a sad story behind her. When we had started staying with her she had painted a beautiful picture of her family she had told us that her son was settled in Dubai & that she missed him. Later she had confessed to that he was living a kilometer away from her but wasn’t in touch with her. As per her it was the daughter in law which was the reason behind this separation but knowing how auntie was we knew that she must have made the DIL’s life hell. Even her daughters who otherwise were very sweet but were very clearly behind her money and left no stone unturned in making it evident.

We had 6 months of so called peaceful existence in which a lady conned her of 25 Thousand (was it poetic justice?), flat mates changed, she had few operations and had mellowed down as well and that is when all hell broke loose. For all my helps during her ailment she misbehaved with me and something snapped off in me. I realised that I was being taken for granted. I decided to move out. No amount of cajoling from her could deter me. I was so fed up her that without having any back up I gave her a months notice. Trust me I haven't even described 1% of my woes, sometimes I think I can write a full book on her.

I very well knew that the amount I was paying for one room was way too much and I was in a position to afford to stay in an independent house. Thus began my search which also meant convincing my parents that I have had enough of this lady (tears strengthened my case) and I need to shift. When I found the dream flat I had another task in my hand that of convincing my parents that I will be safe in a completely independent home and for that I felt no stone unturned. Finally it was word from my boss & his wife that the flat was safe convinced them.

Eventually everything settled down and I shifted. Thus began the most peaceful & best phase of my life. Bamboo kursi’s, pink curtains, pink bed sheets, loads of candles, dari’s and my house was set. I also started cooking which was bliss because tiffin food was getting on my nerves. My books & music system were my company. With every appraisal payout I acquired a TV, Refrigerator, and washing machine.

Sundays used to be bliss. Getting up when I wanted to, eating what I wanted, getting things for home, all had a magical meaning to it. I had always enjoyed staying alone and getting into a welcoming warm & peaceful home was always darn good feeling and no against the common perception I never felt scared. And for records when my parents saw my home they were proud of it :-)

The best part with Ahmedabad is that you are completely SAFE there. In my 5 years of existence not even one outward incident happened to me. I & my friends even used to watch late night movies but never ever felt unsafe.

May be I was lucky to have a dream run but the fact is that the time I had spent alone in that flat was one of the most magical period in life. I still want to relive every moment of it. According to me every girl should experience staying alone, it not only gives you a worthy experience but it also makes you stronger & confident.

This was me, what about you? Have you ever stayed alone? How was your experience?