The jargon of selling living space is anart in itself. A poky, hot, dark flat is transformed in print to become a"surprisingly spacious, south-facing residence". Just as second-hand carsare now ‘pre-owned’, a derelict squat becomes an opportunity for creativeinterior design.
Driving from Delhi into Noida or Gurgaon, I was mesmerised by hoardingsadvertising luxury apartments, promising a lifestyle as high as the fantasycastles they sketch in the empty air. "Icon of status. Insignia of class,"boasts the Florence Elite. "Move in to your new status symbol," exhortsanother. The very names of these concrete excrescences
invoke Foreign Class: Windsor Court, Hamilton Towers, Western Heights. OrEnglish words Frenchified with a couple
of extra accents like Éléganté.
The newspapers are full of smiling couples in Dockers hoiking clean childreninto the air against a backdrop of green.
"Ludhiana calling," beckons one: "Close your eyes, Feel the touch of wetgrass under your feet, Feel the cool breeze
touching deep inside you, Open your arms wide, And take a deep breath, Becausenow, YOU WAIT NO MORE!" Funny how ugly urban sprawl is melded with naturalbeauty, so effortlessly. Amrapali Village, for example—a concrete extravaganzaabout as far from ‘village’ as you can possibly get—has the tag-line:"Inspired by the countryside. Designed for modern lifestyles." "Live in abarchart," is more like it.
And if you want your high living to be enhanced by spiritual aspirations, thereare prime locations in "The Spiritual
Township" of Vrindavan, or in Kurukshetra, "City of Lord Krishna", orsimply make a down-payment on "Nirvana,"
closer home...Dream on...
This article originally appeared in Delhi City Limits, February 15,2006
