Friday, April 8, 2016

An Affair to Remember - Au Revoir Srishti




AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER - Au Revoir Srishti

As we get ready to move out of Srishti at the end of the month, it is worth taking stock of our stay in Srishti.

After four decades of service in Delhi, Aunty and I decided that upon retirement we would move down to South. Solely for its climate, our choice fell on Bangalore, with no exposure to the city whatsoever. It was a long shot, but it clicked. And circumstances conspired to hook us, pleasurably, to Srishti, among its close contenders: Brigade Millennium and Sobha Tulip - both in JP Nagar.

As Aunty and I landed in the Srishti premises on a reconnaissance visit, we had no clue if it was at all worth investing in this property. We just knocked at a door in A block. It was Siva and Bhuvana’s flat. Though we were absolute strangers, Siva’s parents welcomed us with open arms. About twenty minutes of conversation with them, and we were fully charged: “Here is our abode.” They were only tenants and, to get a superlative account from a tenant, there must be some merit in it, we guessed.

Perhaps this is an apology for a pre-investment survey, our fickle mind reminded us five minutes later as we walked back to the bus stop. Let’s us get a second opinion, preferably from an outsider. We spotted a lady ahead of us in the Anand Nagar stretch. “Excuse me Madam, but do you by chance have any idea about that tall residential building over there?” we asked her pointing to Srishti. “You mean that Shriram Srishti complex?  Yes, I do. I happen to live there,” and opened the floodgate on Srishti. It was Sulochana (B-306).

We bought, moved in, and paid a courtesy call on Sulochana who introduced us to her husband, Ramaswamy. He lost no time to take us to several residents - Sreevathsan (Sanjay;s father), Radhakrishnan, Narayan…The list is endless. Not just that. He earmarked the next couple of days for us - to take us to BSNL, BESCOM, the nearest branch of our bank, etc., to help us get started.

Learn the local language first, is a basic prescription to living in a new environment. I expressed my keenness to Sreevathsan during a morning walk. He jumped at it. “Do one thing. Buy a table tennis racquet, and I will teach you Kannada as we play tennis in the Gym.” Yes, he was badly looking for a partner. Somehow, it never took off. I just had to content with some sessions during our morning walk. Till it lasted, he learnt more Tamil than I did Kannada, though it was no exchange programme.  

Ten years on now, we have only pleasant memories to recall. A series of events - Srishti Day, Sports Day, marriages, birthday parties, religious ceremonies, and the like. We enjoyed each of them. Also we had the pleasure to join some Srishti couples in several one-day outings, marked by film-song Anthakshari, sharing jokes, eating out, and what have you. With the Radhakrishnans we went out twice - once to Madurai, Trichy and Rameswaram for a week, and again on a five-day KSTDC tour of Karnataka. With the Narayans, I have lost count - to Sabarimalai, Chamundeswari, Nanjangode, Nimishambal, and resorts, to mention a few. Then with the younger generation, Siva-Prashanti, of B-702, we went on a week-long trip to Dwaraka, Somnath, Gir Forest and other places in Gujarat. Ashutosh Khanna and family (B-701) joined us half way. Early this year with Ashutosh, Ruchi and kids we had a fantastic time yet again - a ten-day trip to almost all cities in Rajasthan, not to speak of joining them regularly on their first day, late-night Hindi movie shows.  Well, memories overflow, but then one has to wrap up.

Forgive me Uncle, from your own account, you seem to enjoy life in Srishti immensely. Is it then a right decision to buy a new apartment and relocate, more so during one’s sunset years? In a lighter vein my reply is, our scriptures suggest, Vardhakye Vaana Prastham (in old age, forest life). If not literally a forest life, we thought we would lead the next best - a forest-view life. Yes, the apartment we shift to is Sobha Forest View, facing Turahalli forest in Kanakpura Road.

Hold on. This farewell piece aside, we still retain the right to return to the Srishti-fold after a while, a la The Return of the Prodigal Son. You never know. My friends Satpathy and Ajay Chowksy, and Aunty’s Asha Bhandari, all have done it. Srishti has that magnetic force. Precisely why I chose to say, Au Revoir (see you again), and not Bye Bye.

We will miss you all.

V V Sundaram
B-703





  

Share