Truely Priceless

Finally the decision was made – with lot of arguments, counter arguments – we were not going to sell our ancestral home at the prime area of Jayanagar, instead, sis and myself had decided (along with all other stakeholders) that we would demolish and rebuild – according to our tastes. After hunting for good architects – we narrowed down to one – who gave us an awesome plan. Ground floor – small house for parents, with ample space for parking (5 cars + 6 2 wheelers), first floor – 2 houses for sister, 2nd floor –a single big house for myself. Days passed by pretty quickly – demolish, freeze design, the ceremonial gudli pooje and the start of the construction.

Horrendous task to say the least – hubby and myself had definitely not expected what we were up against. Sis happily sitting in dubai & parents clearly saying they don’t want to have any say in the matter (argument: we have gifted it to you – for you to take it forward!!!) – meant that all the decisions for all the 4 houses had to be taken by us. Given our schedules and tempers – it was easy said than done. Architect had clearly put his foot down on any design changes during construction – that was really a blessing in disguise. But we still had to monitor, take decisions etc etc – on a weekly basis.

The first signs of trouble started 6 months into the construction – the shell of all the floors had been built, the material for the next phase – granites, tiles, bathroom fixtures etc were already at the site. That’s when we started getting complaints from the security – saying that some ‘goondas’ are coming and taking the material forcibly – cement, sand etc. Alarm bells tinkled – but we surely did not want to get into a faceoff with them. Quick workaround – contractor and the mason went & met them – and gotta know that the ‘goonda’ had finished constructing a small room (with material from various sites) – and his needs no longer existed. Sigh of relief – and we went about continuing with the construction. But the thought that maybe I should have sold the plot and bought an apartment did cross my mind quite a few times – but resisted the urge of voicing it only because it was ancestral property and I wanted to retain and relish.

A panic call from the mason and security on a weekend – put us all into a tizzy. A group of 15 goondas had occupied our house – refusing to let the workers to their job. Gosh – we were at our wits end. How were we (educated, polished, sophisticated) supposed to deal with fisty, foul language, giants??? It was not just occupying, they had started drinking, playing cards and generally creating a nuisance of themselves – forcing the neighbors to make innumerable calls to us. We heard – through the security guy – that they were demanding 50K. Now, why the hell should we pay some guys – for building our house on our plot – it just did not make sense at all.

But but but, they definitely had not anticipated our network though. Being from Bangalore – even we had wee bit of connections and pulled the strings at the right places. Oh no, but then, it had not occurred to us about the nexus between the ‘goondas’ and the police – and slowly realized, it was we who were in for a rude shock and not them. The all famous and popular ‘swalpa adjust maadi’ attitude was seen full blown at the police station. But then again – when the police guys realized that we were kannadigas and the successful strategy that I used – you see I went alone to the police station to complain – as legally the whole building belonged to me (sis had given PoA – with much reluctance ofcourse) made them see the problem from our angle too. They asked me not to give a written complaint – cos, then they will be forced to arrest and put those guys in jail – they assured me, that the evil guys will forever have a grudge against me and my dream home. Instead what they did was to keep a constant vigil on our house and give a stern warning to the rascals – after all they knew each other pretty well. The police were forced to help us out at an opportunity loss for them. Usually – a part of the cut – ya, you are right – goes to the police as well!!!

But we also knew that we could not get away without paying a cent – it is land mafia after all, and to top it – prime area. So, to put a final end to the whole menace – it got down to talking to the dirty fellows on the road. The setting (on the road) and the audience (ladies like me, mom around) – mellowed them down quite a bit. But you wont believe the atrocious stuff they asked – asked us to sponsor an evening for ‘Rajyotsava’ (orchestra and the works) celebrations. Hubby’s face contorted with amusement. Incase any of you are not aware this will cost approximately 50K. With as much of a straight face as possible, he quietly offered to sing solo in the evening cos we just did not have the money to sponsor. They absolutely did not know how to react. And with much persuasion, accepted a donation of 5K – gave us the receipt too – thats the hilarious part. I am still wondering if I have to frame it and preserve that receipt!!!

Cost of the construction material ‘stolen' - Rs 8,000
Cost of the bribe to the police - Rs. 4,000
Cost of the donation for Rajyotsava celebrations - Rs. 5,000
Cost of the stress, tension and pressure that we went through - Truly priceless!!