Random Expressions

“Wait, not so soon, there is a small hitch” the man said.

Sweat broke on my forehead. My tongue felt like sandpaper. And I gulped and blinked as he narrated the small hitch.

“And that is?” I barely managed to speak out

“You will be staying alone?” he asked, and I nodded imperceptibly. Not again! This issue had cropped up several times as there is a general mistrust towards bachelors. “Actually, the people who were taking the flat next to yours are a bunch, and they wanted the one which we showed you, due to an extra balcony in that one”

I blinked hard. Just that?

“Yeah? Rest, you can see this new one. It’s almost the same except for the balcony. And I will give it for Rs500 less, as committed to them also”

I saw the new place. And then I saw the older one again. To me, barring the difference of the balcony, it really looked the same. Even the balcony was not that much an issue since this one also had two; only that since it was not a corner flat, it didnt extend to the other side. Other than this, I saw the drawing room paint a shade darker, which was a teeny weeny irritant, yet the money saving was a good compensation. Plus, it only looked bad if you compared the two. And I wouldnt be doing that daily once I start staying in my house.

I gave my nod to this one, paid the money and asked the person to instal the fans and tubelights. The electrician wasnt available, so I was given a stay-over place in yet another empty apartment on the third floor. It was a hard night - and quite literally too since I was sleeping on the floor after aeons! Plus, I hadnt purchased a mosquito repellant and they troubled quite a bit.

Sunday morning I woke up blurry eyed and pained body, and a nice detailed tour of the apartment building and the nearby area.

The electrician, who was supposed to arrive at eight in the morning, leisurely sauntered in around one in the noon. While he went about his job, I went to the market to purchase some daily item things.

It was deja vu. Only a couple of years back I had done such a shopping when I shifted to Kathmandu - broom, pocha, buckets, mug, soap-box, patra, dust-bin etc. - all the stuff that I had left there before moving back to Delhi (Even though these are utility items, it was impossible to carry them back in my burgeoning 80 plus kilos that travelled with me from Kathmandu to Delhi).

The prices seemed awfully exorbitant for these products. I split the purchase between the more affluent market (Sadar Bazar) and the traditionally middle class one (Raja Ki Mandi). The difference wasnt that great, though.

City Station Road (near Ghatiya Azam Khan - don’t splutter, that’s the name of the place) is the furniture hub of Agra. There, trudged the entire length and breadth of the road searching for a suitable bed. Finally, after much ponderation, zeroed in on two 6′*3′ single beds, that can either be used separately, or better, placed together to form a double bed. (Price wise, it makes sense to do so rather than buying one huge double bed). Single beds dont seem to be much in vogue in Agra as most shops didn’t have them. Even this one is on order, and will reach me on Wednesday.

Thereafter, the next one hour was spent in finding a folding bed and a couple of plastic chairs. The rates were awfully expensive - and above those in Delhi! Haggled a lot, and bought them, though with a neat hole in my wallet!

By the time I reached my house, the fans were installed and the flat was getting cleaned.

Finally, the ordeal of my flat-search came to an end by Sunday late evening. My initial doubts have weakened now. And as mom told me philosophically - whatever happens, happens for the good. In not getting my initial choice I saved a full month’s rent as security, got a flat cheaper by Rs 500 per month, and since it is a direct deal with the apartment society, there is no property dealer brokerage to be paid! In addition, the area is purely residential with immense greenery all around and very near to the tourist spots.

And the best part? The Taj Mahal is still visible - though not a wide-angle top-end view, but directly facing you, peeping over a row of green belt and some buildings!

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 5th, 2006 at 3:30 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.