There’s no other place I would rather live in, says Raju Kane

Raju Kane

Four years ago, when we decided to move to Navi Mumbai, the decision was quite simply governed by a need for more space. Our daughter was growing up and needed more room. Plus, she was longing for a dog, and a one-BHK flat in Chembur was never going to be enough. 

Fact is, I had lived all my life in small spaces. Now, having finally decided to buy a house, my wife and I were most clear about one thing: a spacious dwelling, and never mind if it meant living far away. Given the prevailing prices and factors like connectivity and environmental serenity, Navi Mumbai fit our bill.

But when we finally launched our house hunt, it seemed that destiny and Mukesh Ambani would not let us buy. We had zeroed in on a three-BHK flat in the Seawoods Complex and had already applied for a loan to finance it when Reliance Industries, suddenly and at one go, purchased several dozen apartments in the same housing colony. Prices there rose, almost overnight, by 40 per cent and more, making it completely unaffordable for us.

Mr Ambani and his company backed off just enough for us to find — after a long and winding process full of fortuitous turns and lucky twists — our dream property: a row house with a garden in a green wooded area and the sea nearby. Four years down the line, nothing gives me more pleasure then sitting in my living room and gazing into a garden where I have counted 17 different species of birds come visiting.

A lot of things have changed in Navi Mumbai in the years since. The once empty Palm Beach road is now increasingly crowded; one can no longer test the upper limits of the car’s speed here. Schools which once actively courted students have started charging donations.

Then again, a lot of things remain as they were. There were no real entertainment options then, and there isn’t any now. Good eating places are still few and far between. Worse still, there aren’t any decent bookshops or music outlets.

Despite all this, there is no other city I would rather live in. Navi Mumbai is still green (when compared with Mumbai), has few slums, roads rather than craters to drive on and, generally speaking, a much safer environment.

I’m not sure to how to react to all this stuff about SEZs and airports. As someone who runs a small business, I recognise the economic advantages these offer. But will these projects change the character of the city? Will it become another Mumbai — slum-ridden, polluted, filthy? Or will it continue to remain Navi? I hope and pray it is the latter.

Raju Kane is a media professional