Living in a hole
Mood:  don't ask
Now Playing: Living in a hole
Topic: Mumbai Blues
“Take good care of yours in Mumbai, it is easy to find a job in Mumbai but difficult to find a place to live”, said my father while I was about to board my train to Mumbai. “You don’t worry Dad, I’ll take care”, I said in sheer overconfidence. It took just three days for me in this city to realize that my father was right. Into the six-ring circus that is the housing market in Mumbai City — where a house can sell for minimum of Rs. 25 lakh to ??? well, just imagine at your own risk, they say some flats costs more than three to four crore in this city. Want an apartment on rent? Yes you can get but be ready to pay hefty advances, for a single room flat the rent can range from Rs. 7000 to ????? Rooms that are smaller even then a decent bathroom. So you think your place is small? Recently, a group of architecture students staying up late in a loft in Brooklyn took to amusing themselves by stuffing a mattress into a hole cut into the wall above a bedroom door. Then they tried the mattress out for comfort. Not half bad! It occurred to one of them, that people might pay money to call that elevated mattress home. One advertisement went on the website in New York-sized space between rooms- that used a minimalist pitch. "Opening between hall and room available for long/short-term use, accessible by ladder, sheets and pillows not provided." The ad went up around noon, and by the end of that day, it had a dozen potential takers. This advertisement forced this idea to my mind that it will be not too long that these holes above your bedrooms or kitchen doors can actually get you tenants. Where is the space in Mumbai and people keep pouring into the city, real estate prices remain stratospheric. Don’t be surprised if one day a broker takes you to one of these elevated mattress homes and asks for unimaginable rent. The market for space within other people's space is on the rise. During my ordeal of finding a corner for myself, I was picking up addresses from classifieds. You can find hundreds of ads for rooms within apartments, beds within bedrooms, even the occasional couch — if not living quarters, rooms where it will be difficult for even one person to stretch his arms but your will be asked to share it with three. Some exclude kitchen privileges, request teetotalers, insist upon plant care, limit sleepovers, some will not even have a hygienic toilet. While I was searching a damn corner for myself, I met a poor soul who had the courage to even think of buying a house for him. I used to see him daily slog out from one corner to another in spite of him being ready to pay a handsome amount. The poor soul was just searching a drop out in the mirage so much so that he has lost his mental peace. They say it is a city of dreams, fine we take that but what will one do with his or her dreams if he has not even a few inches to catch a nab for a glimpse of that dream The mattress episode can begin anytime in Mumbai. Students are sharing 1,000-square-foot apartments with five others —still they are ready to pay any amount for a small corner. It will be nto to long that the owners will decide to stuff a spare mattress into the rectangular hole cut into the wall above one bedroom door. Believe me, The mattress ad will catch lot of eyes. And If you are asking about my opinion, "well O.K. I already know I'm crazy, but . . . if that bed's really for rent and comes into my budget. I'm there." I swear after this horrifying month in Mumbai, "I am ready to sleep in corner, in tent, etc. etc." Will you rent me one???????