Sorry, Not for Bachelors

Finding bachelor rooms in Hyderabad is such a Herculean task that finding an oasis in a desert is a lot easier. The problem compounds if you are an unemployed bachelor who cannot afford to approach rental agencies. Even more, search will be exhaustive if one wants a room near or around an area buzzing with coaching crammers. The only option is to search for the room manually, till you find it, even if it drains your ‘Universe Juice’ physically and mentally, turning you into a hapless victim. 

Few days ago, at the end of June, me and my friends started an extensive search for a bachelor room in and around Dilsukhnagar, Hyderabad. It is an abode of coaching centers catering to the needs of students from diverse fields. DSC, SSC, SI, Constable, IIT, GATE, IES, Civils, Groups, Spoken English, etc. are some of the exams for which the students undertake coaching. The less we talk a about the number of intermediate and degree colleges, the better. And we tried to search for a room under the impression that we could find it. But, this journey made us understand the perspective of urban middle class towards the bachelors like us. And believe me, it’s complicated. 

It all started with looking for elusive white boards with five letters glittering in black, TO-LET. There are some other innovative ways to display it too—writing with sketch on a piece of paper, scribbling with chalk on a slate. Everything counts. On the other hand, hanging to-let boards is a perfect way to grab attention towards a house or building. The more we look out for the boards, the less we care at other architectural marvels. They are not that hard to find, and they are not so plenty either. It’s like waiting for the fish to hold on to the trap. The only difference is that we need to walk instead of sitting comfortably and singing melodies. 

Majority of the to-let boards display the contact number and nothing more. When we tried to contact the owners, many of them responded that the rooms were only for families. Excellent! Why can’t they display the same thing on the board itself? We couldn’t have called them in the first place. Some of the owners just display the letters ‘to-let’. When we got in to talk directly with them, we were welcomed with awkward expressions. They looked on us as if we are from another planet, with bodies covered in sweat, face turning black with the sun laughing at us, and uncombed beards with hair sprouting irregularly from the face. And I think they are partly right in thinking so. Even with all these, the reply is evident, ‘sorry, only for families’. Thank You!!

Some owners were good, they directly displayed on the boards, saving our time and effort that the rooms would be given only for the families. There were some rooms specially designed to be leased to the bachelors—very small with little space, but one couldn’t and shouldn’t live there. When we unpack the baggage, there would be little space left even to sit. We laughed a lot when we saw some boards displaying ‘Only for Girls’. Seriously, what’s the difference? Even more, we scratched our heads when we saw few boards displaying ‘Only Veg’. What’s happening in Hyderabad? Some showed us the rooms with great respect. They were neat and clean, ideal for living, but the rents were extortionate. We couldn’t afford them, at least, not before getting jobs.

Such was our plight. For three days, we encountered the every possible outcome which was not desirable for us. All the food we took—instead of passing through the alimentary canal, resulting in digestion and respiration—just evaporated. We walked wherever the roads or streets took, taking all the possible turns, traversing the same path again and again. With BHKs reserved for families and apartments turning their heads away from us, we just moved on with our fate.

There is nothing wrong in having some apprehensions regarding the bachelors. With varied cultures and practices, it’s hard to find suitable tenants, especially bachelors. But, understand our situation too. With meager financial resources, we cannot afford posh apartments where people do not know who lives the next door. All we need is a place to live with warmth. 

Our journey ended on a good note though, when we found the room far away from where we intended to stay. The only difference is that it is close to the nearest bus-stop, a huge sigh of relief. Life really takes us somewhere else than what we desired for. We may look for something with many expectations, even work hard for it, but we get thrilled at the discovery that it has led us somewhere else, with much better outcomes. All is well!