Of all the
places the broker showed I then liked a place in Prabhadevi which was a 1RK
with redwood flooring for 15K. I liked it more than the place I had confirmed
last. The broker tells me that the owner is coming back in 2 days there are some
formalities but you’ll get the place. I reach my friend’s place in Andheri
beaming with happiness upon finding this amazing place. It was only then that I
told my friends that I have been homeless since that afternoon. I stayed back
in Andheri that evening coz I was exhausted from the day and had absolutely no
energy to go to Thane then to my other friend’s place. I leave for Thane the
next evening and leave for office the next day from there which only took me 1
hour 15 minutes (I was expecting it to be a longer journey). On Monday the
broker was supposed to get back to me as always he didn’t. So, I call him and I
get to know ‘The flat is no more available’. The owner wishes to furnish it and
then will give it for 23k. Which was way over my budget. I go back to the
previous flat to find out if it can be given by Tuesday evening. The owner asks
me to speak to his wife upon reaching there. She showed me two more flats that
they have but the earliest possession would be after a week. The flat that I
had seen was occupied by their relative and they didn’t intend to ask them to
vacate it. Which was surprising as they had made it available to show it to
prospective tenants. I was not very convinced about taking one of their other
places, I randomly asked a lady in the lift about the water situation there and
she tells me it comes only once a day and it was sometime in evening when I’m
in office usually. Revelation of so many lies was too overwhelming I decide on
dropping the idea of staying there altogether.
PGs in Bandra:
Next day I see
some places in Bandra (PG). The one that I absolutely loved was a conventional
PG where you are given a room in owner’s flat. They had a dog and I love dogs.
The room was on sharing basis but I was ready to compromise. After the entire
discussion I get to know that the kitchen is out of bounds for guests. It was a
deal breaker as I cannot have outside food. It’s not only a wastage of money
but I love cooking and I cannot let go of that in exchange for a decent place
to stay.
Stay at Santacruz:
By this time I
had moved to a colleagues place in Santacruz as I had used up the two pair of
formal clothing I had in my backpack and I needed to take my stuff from the
hotel’s cloakroom. Of all the frustration that had built up by then this was
one thing that brought in some positivity in me. If I came across a bunch
of liars and crooks I also found this amazing friend who opened up the gates to
her home to a person she had barely known for 2 weeks.
The same friend
convinced me that moving to a PG was a bad idea which I totally agree with.
House hunting
got easier from here as I had my luggage at my disposal and Santacruz being
close to office I could house hunt till late.
Mumbai Monsoon:
It was during
this time that Mumbai rains picked up pace and posed as another major hurdle in
my process of finding a place to stay. It rained the entire Thursday night and
the three of us unaware of its strength and city’s weakness in handling it,
started from our places as usual only to take an about turn about 2 km from
office. The taxi driver refused to drive further as it was clearly dangerous
venturing into roads filled knee deep in water.
We came back,
discussed our strategy in case we get stuck in her house for days. The good
thing about this it forced me to take a break from the house hunting that my
body desperately needed. I had got multiple boils on my feet of all the walking
esp in the rain.
I saw a couple
of places in Santacruz of which I liked a 1RK. This broker’s style of showing
flats was different. He kept showing me places without telling me the price, I
innocently assumed he must have considered my budget while doing so.
It started
pouring on Saturday just after I had seen 1 flat and 1 door. I was supposed to
see the latter too but the door wouldn’t give in. They kept trying to unlock it
for 15-20 min only to be stopped by me. I didn’t want to stay at a place that
could ditch me anytime from entering.
My friend had
left to meet her friend somewhere in South Mumbai. No other broker picked up my
call as it has started raining really heavily. I had no place to go back to. I
decided to go to my friends place in Andheri as soon as the rain slowed down.
Andheri was the closest I could go to. Trains were rare, meanwhile I called my
friend from Andheri to let him know I’m reaching. He didn’t pick up but that
didn’t worry me. I knew his place so I decided to just drop in. I tried calling
him one more time when I reached Andheri but he didn’t pick up again. I reached
his colony and realized while walking that I actually didn’t know where he
stays. I just knew the lane. Called him a couple of more times, no response. I
walked up and down it all seemed normal to me till then. I called another
friend who stayed close by. He was outside and promised to be there in 5
minutes. For the next 20-30 minutes I just walked up and down trying to figure
out where does he stay. Finally I did find his place (and I’ll never forget
it). Mind you it was still raining then. I ring his door bell, trying to dry
myself there. I ring the bell again, then again, and then again. I was outside
the door for about 10- 15 minutes, no response. I called out his name, called
him over the phone. No response. It was then that tears started rolling down my
eyes and the frustration, disappointment, Anger, and all other feelings that
had strengthened in the last three weeks of trying to find a place to stay in
Mumbai came rushing back and the volcanic eruption of emotions just happened.
Thankfully it was still raining and it became easier for me to hide my crying face
under it and the sound of rain subdued the sound of my sobs. I stood at the
bus stop for some time trying to figure out what to do next. I could go to
Thane but I was scared of being stuck up while reaching there as the rain
hadn’t stopped the entire day. I kept standing there waiting for absolutely
nothing. After some time, rain reduced it’s wrath and I decided to see palces
in Bandra. I had contact number of 3 brokers and 1 owner. No broker picked up the call.
The owner’s flat had already gone. I called an old broker who had shown me PGs
there and begged him to see if there were any palces for 30k. He called back
after sometime and called me to a common place from where one of his men could
pick me up and show me available places. It took them really long time to get
the keys but I didn’t mind as I anyway didn’t have anywhere else to go. Finally
when I got to see the place, I liked it immediately (It could have been my
desperation) but it was quoted for 35k. Broker called the owner and I begged
him to reduce it to 30k. A lot of negotiations later, he did. I paid him 10k as
token amount and then I just the feeling sink in that I finally have a place in
Mumbai I can call my own at least for the next 11 months.
I called up my
friend from Santacruz the first thing coz I knew no one else will understand
what I was feeling at that time. Although I had always tried to put up a strong
face in front of her but she just knew how miserable the entire experience was
making me feel inside. Maybe because a couple of years back she had gone
through a similar experience. I would have loved to celebrate with her but she
was still outside and I obviously didn’t want her to alter her plans for me.
Waking up without the thought of house-hunting:
Then I called my
friend from Thane and told her I’ll stay over. I lost my watch during that
journey but at that time absolutely nothing mattered. I had found a shelter in
Mumbai and I was not going to let anything even remotely disappoint me that
evening.
It was still a
Saturday so I thoroughly enjoyed my Sunday with my friend and her family. Every
time I visit her place Aunty cooks something that I have never had before which
is so amazing. It seemed like eternity that I didn’t have to get up to the
first thought of finding a house. I felt a tonne lighter!
