Who renamed my neighbourhood?

It had to take three entirely unrelated interactions within a week for this columnist to realise just how much the city and its suburbs had undergone changes from a geographic standpoint and to what extent it had crept into our lexiconResidential townships created by big builders have become visible reminders of how this untamed beast has taken over locations gullies and neighbourhoods that were otherwise known only by their original namesThe first instance was a chat with a colleague from a previous workplace We were catching up after ages and she being originally an outoftowner chose to suggest the name of her massive lsquogated communityrsquo an absolutely offputting term thatrsquos quietly entered our vocabulary in Wadala as the only part of her address So that I could locate it better she added another builder haven as the landmarkIt was getting worse to digest for this diehard Bombaywallah I found my way with some help from Google Maps and by remembering a famous temple in the vicinity mdash a past recollection from the days where as loitering collegians wersquod lose and eventually find our way in these back alleys and untouched neighbourhoods Not any more as I was to discover when I headed there a few days later The streetscape had undergone a sea change to put it mildly Skyscrapers literally touched the sky the sun didnrsquot hit the ground and I had to crane my neck outside the kaalipeeli to scan for remnants from my fond wanderings in these parts Barring the odd old read 1980s vintage building all else seemed like a page from a hastilyplanned poorlyassembled gentrification of a oncecharming localityCongested BhandupThe second chat was with a Delhibased author who was fixing her city itinerary and was keen to meet This time the location was Bhandup The township she was to be staying in was planned by a big builder who was one of the earliest movers in the eastern suburbs It is an oasis in the middle of a congested part of this suburb and is hardly the kind of ideal advertisement for broad roads or treelined roads by any stretch of the imagination no matter what the glossy signage and swank entrance tries to paint Step out of the massive enclave and itrsquos like any other predictably planned urban aberration Forget about footpaths gardens and lsquogetawaysrsquoMany of Bhanduprsquos original addresses and street names draw a blank with autowallahs even local kirana shop owners seem clueless when you stop by for directions as I have realised during my many trips to the suburb The ground beneath its feet seems to be inching closer to a complete concrete makeover ndashsooty chimneys crumbling factory galas and industrial estates are gradually being phased out to make room for these upscale residential complexes Oh and never mind if it is giftwrapped with the promise of a green landscape only to be greeted by a public loo when you step outside its posh environs In fact itrsquos common to spot such signage by the builder lobby on BEST bus backs that ply in the area Move BhandUp in lifeGhodbunder Rd transformedThe final geographic revelation was at my other suburban neighbour mdash Thane Big brother Onetime Land of the Lakes We Mulund folk always looked at it in awe And so naturally many from Mulund also flocked there for better facilities schools and opportunities of all kinds Over the decades the stretch that witnessed the biggest transformation has to be Ghodbunder Road This busy road is lined with residential complexes that promise every type of residential dream from budget apartments to Balinese villas One of the big daddies in the mix has a huge township where a friend became a recent occupant And so when I visited the space it made for a jawdropping recapNearly a decade ago I had spotted it in its nascent stages and to see this behemoth that it had become meant only one thing Like the rest of that stretch every section is now known either by the name of the builder or its celestialfantasticalthemed township it had to have a prominent footprint of course Track this stretch on Google Maps and it reveals the extent to which this part of Thane has metamorphosedFor the longest time mention the word lsquoEstatersquo and the autowallah would take you to just one place here mdash Wagle Estate But today itrsquos anyonersquos guess As I left the township I spotted a popular bank using this townshiprsquos name in its signboard address Thatrsquos saying something noIt remains to be seen how we can manage to retain these original spaces that are all small but equally intrinsic parts of Bombayrsquos identity and its blueprint that are now at the mercy of its new selfappointed urban lsquoplannersrsquomiddayrsquos Features Editor Fiona Fernandez relishes the cityrsquos sights sounds smells and stoneswherever the ink and the inclination takes her She tweets bombayanaSend your feedback to mailbagmiddaycom