Bangalore is a city that welcomes young urban professionals with open arms

Househunting ain't easy

Bangalore is a city that welcomes young urban professionals with open arms. The city has no dearth of accommodations in case you want to earn your bread and butter here. All lies. This is what came to my mind after I finished seeing the 30th house few days ago.

It may be easy for a man but for a single woman wanting to stay in an independent flat is still a problem in cosmopolitan Bangalore.

The journey from finding a house to fixing it was a series of questions and answers. Other than conventional questions like name, location and profession I faced a host of queries that had nothing remotely connected with the renting of a house.

One Wednesday morning at 7 am, I had an appointment with a broker, who was supposed to take me to my dream house. After 40 minutes of waiting at the bus stop, I found myself face to face with a pot-bellied man with a sugary smile.

Assuring that he was the best broker in town, he took me to a narrow lane, which ended at the courtyard of probably the brightest yellow-coloured house in Bangalore. An equally brightly dressed landlady with a broad smile soon greeted us as she examined me from head to toe.

Realising that my inability to speak Kannada may cause communication hazards, the kind broker politely offered to translate.

Unfortunately, as the conversation progressed, the broker was not too happy. I was asked why I don't stay in Kolkata? Why am I single and when am I getting married? Realising that I was failing to satisfy her, my broker tried to divert the conversation to my profession.

But no such luck. After learning that I was a journalist with no fixed timings of return, she sighed and said, "Amma, you are risky."Next she asked me if I'd be bringing my man friends home and if all of us would be cooking non-vegetarian and strewing chewed bones all around.

Wondering if I looked that unhygienic, I tried explaining that friends will occasionally drop in. She turned to my broker, shouted and banged the door. Later, I was told that my lifestyle had shocked her and made her worried that such a single young girl may have dangerous influence on her teenage boys.

This was just one instance. In my house-hunting phase there have been so manyu00a0 that after a point I started feeling odd when I used to ask for a one -bedroom flat for a single working woman.

And with each experience I was just reminded time and again that we still live in a hypocritical society that just blabbers about imparting enough respect and equality to women.

We still live in a hypocritical society that just blabbers about imparting enough respect and equality to women

Priyanjali Ghose is Senior Correspondent, MiD DAY, Bangalore

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