A long time ago, on a Diwali night, my daughter had a fire accident on our ground floor verandah, while we adults, were inside the house. Our neighbour, who was in his balcony on the first floor rushed down, acted faster than we could have, to get the first-aid, at a nearby hospital.
That’s the spirit of a good neighbour, to extend a supportive hand, in times of emergencies. Mostly, people do step up, in times like this. It does help, in a big way, if we have cordial relations with each other, For us to call on them, likewise for them, to ring that bell, without hesitation.
With changing times, lives are busier, our mindsets are consumed by our own humdrum of life. Gone are the days, when the neighbour’s kid would knock on the door for a spoon of dahi (for jaman) or extra chairs for a party at home. That interaction is lost.
In a sub city like Vasant Kunj, people are from multi-cultural & multi-state backgrounds and occupants/tenants are often changing.
Yet, we do see people breaking these social barriers! A North Indian celebrating Durga Pooja, a Marathi joining a fast on Karwa Chauth, someone from South doing Garba.
Some persisting issues, however, have broken relations among people living next door. We often see quarrels over parking, pets’ hygiene, managing stray dogs, cleaning of common areas & extending flats! These can be resolved amicably, on the premise of basic human civic sense. A middle path is always a possibility as long as we are rational and reasonable.
It’s actually easy, to make neighbours into a friendly acquaintance, with just a smile, a salutation, to check on each other. There is some kind of inertia that has set in, to find convenience in living by ourselves, rather than to engage within the community. We have put blinders to people around us.
But it’s also true, that we all look for human, social connections to be happier.
For a joyous co-existence, the neighbours must rise above petty altercations and be there for each other. A good chemistry makes for good physics!
