Knock Knock? – Block Block!

IT jobs never tickled my fancy, but I ended up taking one. Though it came as a challenge to me, I tackled every phase of my struggle with enormous effort and perseverance. That opened gates to the so-called ‘Deployment’ or ‘Hey-I-gotta-project’ phase. Trust me; it’s a scary and bizarre thing that might either break you or make you. I intend not to exaggerate the process but to put the facts straight simply. This situation would best befit any person who is staying away from home.

We all have the urge to leave home, travel to new places, meet people from different cultures and taste the native food, because of which we find, working in a place away from home, an adventure. As long as you undergo the training phase, things are pretty settled, and there’s nothing to worry about. The reason being: You know it’s your sojourn in the new place and also you aren’t sure of your base location. Better.

Shit gets real when you realize you have no choice but to stay in the same place. Because that’s when you start your ‘House Hunt.’ It might sound like an exciting thing, but in Bangalore, it is STRICTLY NOT. I’m not sure what idea people have framed about Corporate Freshers. Like they earn 10LPA? Or even 5LPA? That’s when the trouble starts.

A small squared room stuffed with three beds, a hand-size television, three long but narrow cupboards, and a super-small attached bathroom, which could make your bath challenging, charges a heartless 6000 bucks for ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. If you think this is worse, you should check out the ad posts for rentals. A 1BHK for 10,000 with 1 Lakh deposit. A studio room of 150 Sq. Ft. charges 5000 per month with a deposit of 40,000. It looks like we got to apply for a ‘Deposit Loan’ in banks.

Or much worse is, places that have a spacious room but are segmented into dinky cabins, stuffed with a bed and old cupboards charging around 8000 bucks. The Inner Demon in me would want to punch them in the face and question their morality while my Inner Goddess keeps me calm. Even a beggar would prefer staying in a spacious place like a subway or a railway station. And look at the plight of IT Freshers who earn a bit more than a beggar? Pathetic, isn’t it?

I presume, the Karnataka Government has enforced a law where the landlords are supposed to charge no more than two months’ rent as the deposit. But I don’t see it happening. I would appreciate if each house owner would look beyond their greed for money and come in terms with the people who can’t afford so much. The fact remains the same – they got nothing to lose.

I never thought staying miles apart from my family would make my crib about almost everything that’s happening around me. With 20,000 bucks in hand every month, crawling through each phase of life with strenuous effort and struggle betokens Dysthymia. Finding a place to stay is a different kind of pain.