Indraneel Majumdar: Strange build up, yet great communities

August 9, 2016

Pune has myriad stuff happening every day.

But the real stuff happens at homes, within families, the clash of the old and the new. Many a time, such stuff is not told outside the four walls of the home.

If it is an old locality where many people do know one another, word filters out. Sundry Amit has decided to marry against his parental wishes. Sundry Anita has decided to go and live her college friend and does not want to come home. Shankar uncle has lost his job in Akurdi. Asha aunty has no money for her hip replacement and son is not sending money from Boston or wherever he is. But he is buying property in Aundh. You know, things like that!

But in modern housing complexes, even that is not being possible. Though cheek by jowl, one can hear what is happening in the neighbouring apartments, one does not make the necessary efforts to be friendly. It happens, over a long period of time during which Abhishek Bachchan flops in a few films more and the son, who may be in class 11, goes off to study in Sangli or Karad or Australia, as per the family’s idea of monetary possibilities.

Dahanukar Colony was one such place. The netherland between the old and the new. Neither here nor there. We took up residence in a spanking new complex. We knew no one. No one knew anyone. But people are people. Ganesh Chaturthi was celebrated with lemon races for children. Birthday parties had Cakes and Hakka Noodles. Small troubles over parking spaces. Big troubles over smell in club. All that!!

Then, one day, I arrived from work to some strange sounds from a floor far above us. The passages of the building opened out to an atrium and so we could hear the sounds very distinctly. A man shouting manically. A woman whimpering. Another woman trying to silence the man. And all the neighbours peeking out of their front doors silently to hear the commotion, but not wanting to get into the domestic fight. Then, came sounds of blows.

Of course, some of us men were driven into action then. I don’t know Marathi well enough to really go up and manage a situation like that but there were people who could do that and did that. Eventually. But that was not the point. The point was the breaking of ice about gossiping and exchange of rumours, that we Indians do quite nicely. It was as if the whole complex came to life post that episode. New friendships were formed just to discuss that gory episode.

Oh, how it was transformed? Jalebis and Shrikhand arrived at our dining table from happy neighbours. The men decided to form a badminton group to try and be better than “Dhal gaya din” levels. And so on and so forth.

It takes a lot of things to make a community. Look, how we did it!

Indraneel Majumdar is a CEO of a hospitality and amusement company, owns a business, chases trivia and enjoys ‘slice of life’ situations. After spending many years in Pune and Mumbai, he now lives in Bengaluru. This column appears every Tuesday.