Kumara Park: From middle class to riches

From middle class to riches: opulence all over
The Times of India

Bangalore: The area is a confluence of Gujarat, Rajasthan and Karnataka. If 60 per cent of Marwaris and 20 per cent of Gujaratis are growing up in this part of the city, Bangalore has been growing on them.

Kumara Park is the tale of two worlds. Of the nouveau riche and the others who have been a part of this locality and prospered with it. But they have something in common: they subscribe to the Bangalore dream. The face of this area has changed. Rich colours, opulence at every corner and examples of sites holding mini-castles. “About six to eight years ago, in a row of 40 houses, there were about 10 to 12 cars. Today each of those 40 houses has two cars each. The economy cars have been replaced by the higher-end posh vehicles,’’ said a resident Rahul Kapoor.

Needless to say, this has led to additional burden on the locality’s narrow roads.
Kumara Park holds plenty of stories of middle-class population who left behind the chawls of their cities to settle in Bangalore when property was “dirt-cheap.’’ Said another resident of the Kumara Park Residents’ Association M. Shah: “When we came here, the cost of a site was equal to the annual rent we paid at a chawl in Mumbai. Five years ago, the square foot rate was around Rs 2,300. Today it is pegged at Rs 4,500 to Rs 5,000.’’

Attend one of the meetings that the association conducts and there are just a handful of locals. The area has been captured from various communities of other states. But most meetings serve South Indian food; members say it is a mark of feeling ‘Bangalorean’. “It’s a heterogenous mix of population. When we meet for the welfare of the locality, when we interact with various state agencies for the works to be taken up we all become one voice. Down the years, most have seen prosperity. It shows in the clothes people wear, the jewellery they sport and the cars they travel by,’’ said Kapoor.In the last five years, many residents have also rented out partial spaces of their homes to corporates, small joints, cyber cafes, ice cream parlours, general stores.

A monthly rent of Rs 5,000 to Rs 8,000 is a part of the additional income for the residents.