HELLO, GATED COMMUNITIES

HELLO, GATED COMMUNITIES
Bangaloreans with deep pockets are adopting a luxe lifestyle within a boundary
The Times of India

SOON, Bangalore will have another claim to fame. Two German film-makers, Ilka Schulz and Corinna Wichmann are researching on “gated communities” in four different countries: Poland, USA, South Africa and India. They wish to come to Bangalore to film gated communities here for their film for a channel.

“We are interested in the phenomenon of enclosed neighbourhoods which appear all over the world,” writes Ilka. They chose Bangalore as they believe the huge change in economy fuelled by the IT-business has thrown up a new lifestyle for some, a “transformation of traditional structures and attitudes.”

But to begin at the beginning, what’s a gated community? Architect Sathya Prakash Varanashi says, “A gated community here refers to the tendency of people to live within a kind of boundary.” A Western concept and a trend in some parts of the US, it’s quite popular in Bangalore, for those with deep pockets. “Techies in Bangalore travel a lot and see such communities abroad and want to belong to one such here.”

A gated community has walls enclosing villas where residents lead self-contained lives, with most facilities being available within, swimming pools and clubhouses included. There’s a feeling of safety, luxury and exclusivity. But these do not include apartment complexes. Adds Varanashi, “A gated community has walls and a watchman. The land’s developed by builders who lay the roads, the sanitation.”

Colonel Mathew Thomas, resident of one such off Airport Road, says he enjoys the privacy it offers. “There are no salesmen, no traffic, no noise. For basics, we have a range of shops outside the gates. There’s landscaping, so the whole area looks very beautiful. People consider it a status symbol to live here, it offers exclusivity.”

But S Vishwanath, urban planner, says living within a gated community is not such a good thing. “It’s a way of ghettoising themselves. Once within their gates, residents don’t care about the rest of the world. Access is limited, you are tagged before you go in. The water they draw for landscaping is a drain on resources.” Also, “It promotes a me-me culture. No one says, let our city improve. Ideally, you should live in a place like Jayanagar with houses spread over, then there’s more interaction among people.” The exclusivity makes them become islands.

Other aspects? “In government layouts, the government supplies electricity and water and so on. If it doesn’t, you are within your rights to ask for them and there can be a public outcry. But within a gated community, the association takes over from the builders and the continuing escalation of costs can be difficult to handle,” says Colonel Mathew.
But Malavika Ramanujam, who lives in a gated community beyond Marathahalli says she loves it. “There’s no traffic, no dust, children are safe, they can play where they like. The place is cosmopolitan, there’s security, calm and peace.”