Too close for comfort-Bombaying Bengaluru?

(If you are wondering, why this image? its my dream, well sort of and it doesn't exist in reality, at least not in the current "Grab every inch of earth and destroy it for i want my money" type of scenario.)

As we complete almost a decade in our first home, I long and fidjet to move out our current home into a new place. Ofcourse I haven't found my dream place as of yet. Mostly because i know nothing of that sort exists anymore. You either like what you get, or you get what you want. The later being more difficult, as it involves, searching for what you want, narrowing down on the place, doing research on neighborhood, and a whole lot of things.

Any visit to a newly launched complex in Bangalore throws you out of balance. Atleast thats the case with me, as I am what you call an old Bangalorean and am more use to a low rise life style with a minimal respectful space of bedrooms and kitchen and bathroom spaces. We grew up witnessing, big spaces, large verandahs, warm halls, decent enough for bed and study type bedrooms and still had space for a small garden and two coconut trees.

It comes as a shock to me, when I walk into these larger than life building complexes and hear these trained men and women speak about ameneties first before anything else, because I guess thats the only thing attractive about these "Zombie" zones.  With many a promised grounds and playgrounds, these massive projects plan to revive the play zones and have cricket, football or basket ground places. But I doubt their intentions as so much of what they plan to offer is a compromise of sorts. They also charge you for a view. Yes! You heard that right, i was shocked to know, they charge for something they did not build or create. there is the sky and the trees which many of them they uprooted, so if you want a particular view there is a price on it.

Some of the rooms do not even have windows, if you select a particular size, suppose that is what you can afford, so if you select the minimum square foot home, you will miss out of many windows. My question is how much profits do these people want to make, and why? View charge- Oh really? "Ridiculous"

So now I pay to view the sky, which is basically a stupid sur charge on nature. And what is with the size of the rooms and kitchens, everything is shrunk and made to model houses in Bombay. Never did Bangalore witness such small bathrooms. Its clearly a compromised way of life. And the neighbors are always too close for comfort. I just feel even in plots, these days, people refuse to let go of an inch of land and construct on every inch, the concept of leaving space for a garden is long forgotten. Who has the time to maintain one. I will have the prettiest house only to show it to maximum number of people, that this is my Tajmahal.

I am all for change and progress folks, do not get me wrong, but this business of cutting corners and shrinking the size of every inch of what use to be a home, now a compromise just doesn't go down well with me. I am unable to cope with this rapid "Bombaying" of my city.

Just the other day, i spoke to someone who lives on a farm of 3 acres. I was thrilled to get to meet someone who lives on farm in Bangalore in todays time, so i asked her, how wonderful it must be. She said, yes, it use to be, but now, the city has come closer and it no more is an area which is cut off from the hustle. I was disappointed again. Another day, i met a cousins friend who had a farm in the outskirts where they would throw new years party for close ones. She also sighed and said, its no more a farm land and that, they are under constant threat to shut shop and sell the green patch with 100 year old trees. As the concrete wants to take over, in short real estate wants to engulf every inch of the living mother earth and we cant do a thing. We cannot do anything about it. We can wail, we can complain, we can go on and on about the ills, but no, i realised we cant stop this plunder.

Once upon a time, foreigners  invaded our land and history talks about loots and decoys and destruction of land and property by these foreigners. Its the same today, but a little different, in the sense people looting are apparently rich real estate sahabs who are hungrily looking at the next forest to take down, or the next lake to destroy, to sell us another dream, to put a charge on what view we have, i wonder where the world is going, and then, i am called a cynic.
Is it my fault?

Couldn't they let this land just be!