Akash Sengupta was academically brilliant. Immediately after he passed out of IIM Joka, he got a job in an MNC and was posted in their head office in Mumbai. Young and dynamic, career was more important to him than anything else. He was habituated to living on the edge but the pandemic and the cyclone Amphan in Kolkata, where his parents live, brought home the importance of safe living.
Lockdown has created a sense of belonging and concern for family members who stay far away. Akash’s parents were repeatedly calling him to come home and live with them. Cyclone Amphan and the resultant few days without intermittent power, water, and mobile network at his parents’ home at Kolkata finally drove the point home.
Safe Living will Remain Very Important even after COVID-19
Akash is not alone. Many migrants like him in India have realised the importance of safe living and are heading home at the first opportunity. They want to be safe along with their family and take care of them. Long separation has created wistfulness and homesickness to join the family. In fact, the constant worry of the family members in faraway places for the safety of the migrants is too much to bear.
Akash was quite comfortable living in shared accommodation in Mumbai with no worries about cooking, washing, or cleaning. As soon as the lockdown was announced, his partners, who were from Pune and Nagpur, managed to go home, living Akash alone in the apartment with his own problems.
Even long after the Coronavirus pandemic is gone, the newfound belongingness is not going to go away in a hurry. No family will ever be completely comfortable with one of the families living far away.
Cyclone Amphan Stressed the Importance of the Community
The massive devastation caused by cyclone Amphan in Kolkata threw the peaceful living at Kolkata in total disarray. Thousands of trees fell on roads and overhead electric lines. Almost all areas in Kolkata had to suffer long power, mobile network, and internet outage. Without power, water supply in homes could not take place for days while waterlogging was rampant in many areas.
In this scenario, the community life at Kolkata rose to the occasion. The desire to help neighbours and fellow citizens were widespread.
Kolkata always had a close-knit community in its paras and in a crisis they become one large family, helping each other. Even gated communities huddled to become a unified team, sharing resources to assist each other.
Gated Communities were One up on the Crisis
Gated communities, by their very nature, can mobilise resources faster than standalone buildings to tide over any difficulty. Their infrastructure is generally well-equipped to respond fast.
For example, almost all gated communities have generators these days and they help to minimize the effect of a power outage and maintain essential services like water supply to apartments.
Having a home in a gated community can be a boon in such trying times. You will be able to share your difficulties with your neighbours who are most likely to extend help.
Staying in a gated community gives you a feeling of safe living. Staying in a standalone building, which doesn’t have exhaustive infrastructural facilities, can take a long time to restore normalcy in a crisis.
Living in a Gated Community has its Advantages
If you really want to live in such a home as to have a better quality of life, you must choose a community of like-minded people. A community offers many benefits and makes living a pleasure.
Gated communities come with exhaustive security features these days. There are CCTV, watchmen, and detailed security protocol which bars unwanted persons at bay.
These communities generally come with a number of amenities for a resident to socialize, work out, relax, and participate in many activities. Neighbours make it a large family and help come fast in any emergency such as a medical emergency.
Buying a Home in a Gated Community is Easier Now
This is the most opportune time to buy a home in a gated community for a number of reasons. As the home loan interest rate is the lowest in a decade, it is unlikely that it will go any lower from here. As the economic activity picks up momentum, the interest rate can even inch up.
Moreover, the government has extended PMAY CLSS Scheme till 31st March 2021 which will provide substantial benefit to the homebuyers.
Home prices are flat at this time with various developers offering incentives. With raw material prices going up, which is a near certainty, such benefits may not last.
Instead of waiting, homebuyers should take advantage of this God-given opportunity and must not let it pass.
