“If Gurgaon had not happened, the rest of India’s development would not have happened, either” contended Mr. Singh, the chairman of DLF. “Gurgaon became a pacesetter.”
This city is all about having similar-looking buildings all around for different functions, having roads with no turns, a drainage system that is as good as not having one, a bunch of confusing underpasses, six and eight-lane roads that do not allow people to cross over and a metro line that does not go to places it is supposed to go.
If we consider Gurgaon, or should I say, a developed city, we would be highly mistaken as it is nothing but a “concrete jungle” which is praised by every person not living in the city and criticized by the ones residing in it. The city offers us the amenities which are not even required at this point in time in this country and if we require it, it is not offered in the best possible way.
The Metro of the city could be the best example to give, as we have it, it does make our lives easier but the line does not extend to the parts where it is needed the most. It is not connected to Delhi metro in the best way possible and people might have to travel in the opposite direction first to reach the destination, the reason they would rather take a cab and pay more to reach in time and with ease.
Standing somewhere in the middle of a crossroad, in the Cyber Hub, I see tall buildings everywhere, all air-conditioned, all having glass walls, people working in formals and feeling cold, they can go to work in cotton clothes on a hot summer day and work in comfort. The city is not in the need of having all of this but being immensely influenced by the culture of the west, we feel it is the need of the hour to have every possible thing they have.
Designing the golf course road- the way it is, was the best thing to do in this city, one might think initially but it was the worst as we get to know it more. For a person who is new to the city, missing one turn could be as tiring as running a 100 m sprint in the Olympic games. Being in the car, and experiencing the fast drive, people do not even realize that they are supposed to follow certain traffic rules. But when it comes to following rules, we do not even care about reaching a place in time as being punctual is not a trait to have.
After all of this, comes the time of rain and this “beautiful” city turns into a place with overflowing water just in 10 minutes which is the result of having an extremely planned and well-maintained drainage system. It is something that can be a topic of discussion as this is something that is fundamental to planning any city.
Since we are all so much influenced by the western culture and their architecture, we consider having high rises the best way to look like one of them. Being in the northern part of India and having a climate that does not meet the requirement of having glass buildings and air conditioners everywhere we feel is the need but is it really?
