Way back in 1999 as we moved into our newly constructed house, Sushant Vyapaar Kendra, (SVK) used to be clearly visible from our ground floor.
However, it used to wear a deserted look and was haunted by pigeons and stray animals in the dark and empty corridors. The basements were invincible as most of the access points were closed.
“Sir, are you interested in buying a shop here?” asks a frail-looking property broker who emerged out of the dark. “This place..? No way, who will ever come to this dingy joint…?” to which he replied, “Dekh lo, Sir, saamne wali location dilwaa denge sahi rate par” I thought to myself “Barely are we managing to pay for the plot and the construction, how can we ever think of shelling out 6 lakhs more…?”. I blatantly ignored his proposal. The only visits therefore I used to make to the SVK were for buying general provisions or to drop my children on the road in front of the Vyapaar Kendra, from where their school bus used to pick them up.
As the time passed by, children went to universities, the empty plots started getting occupied and the SVK started getting busy and energized: Mother dairy, Safal Vegetables and fruits, grocery and provision stores, meat shops, frozen foods, bakeries, grain grinding mills, drugs, pharmacies, about a dozen of small-time tailors with just one sewing machine, garment showrooms, rugs, carpets, curtains, drapery, photography and photocopying shops, utensils, hardware, electrical shops, kitchenware, water purifiers, crockery, cutlery, linen, glassware, toys, stationery, beauty salons, jewellery shops, footwear shops, homoeopathic doctors, physicians, and several eateries, serving fast-food like Gol Gappas, chaat, Dosa, Idli, jalebi, dhokla, not to miss the hawkers selling bhutta, shakarkandi, dal ke laddoo and fruit juices. The list does not end till you see homsome travel agents, and foreign exchange agencies. Doesn’t it sound like a one-stop Business Centre for all needs?
The price of shops has skyrocketed, every nook and corner of SVK is occupied and vendors have even encroached on the pavement area on the ground floor. The rental of a small shop in a good location these days can cost up to two and a half lakhs rupees per month.
Today, I reminisce about that frail property dealer who tried his best to sell me a shop in that ‘Dingy’ complex 24 years ago. I would have been sitting pretty with a fat rental coming to me every month. It is regrettable that the opportunity did not knock at my door again.
Even after staying here for almost two and a half decades, I have not been able to master the maze of corridors running in all directions. I usually address my queries to the best people, the small-time tailors, sitting in the corridors, who, upon being asked any whereabout, will, without raising their head, say – “Doosre right ke baad pehla left”
During evenings, the SVK is at its blooming best…Despite the chaos of traffic, the noise and the overcrowding, the footfall to SVK has increased several times… At times, one enjoys, and feels that the SVK has followed a method in madness and created a ‘raunak’, something that everybody likes…
Oh…that property dealer out of the dark…where are you?
