13-14 years ago, we opted to buy a small apartment in a small village in the Konkan foothills, instead of adding yet another (and bigger) car to the garage in Delhi. Which was just as good, because the street values of the existing cars in Delhi touched rock bottom when the 10/15 year rules kicked in, and the village we invested and entrusted our lives to had the kind of air quality, water and peace of the sort seen only in documentaries about clean villages in India.
And then, in a few years, our village was blessed with an international airport (GOX/Mopa/Manohar International) 25-30kms and as many minutes pleasant drive through forest and bio-diversity away. (It already had a scenic railway station, THIVIM, also about 20-25 minutes pleasant drive away.)
Leaving Delhi is easy if one has the wherewithal. Or the motivation. I see a good number of people moving from urban India to the Konkan foothills of Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka. Good for them if they can merge with the culture and lifestyle.
But I would like to add one small request - leave if you can, but aim for a simpler lifestyle. There is really no need to bring the concept of large houses, big cars and high running expenses when shifting for cleaner air and water. These are what caused the problem in the first case in wherever people shifted from.
And yes, please rent for a full 12-month cycle, to get a better grip on what life really is about in the Konkan. Please do not rush into buying.
Another question I get is - medical? The answer is - when your air and water are cleaner, you tend to not fall sick so often; and for serious medical care, there is no dearth of medical tourism options.
Yet another question - where will the children / friends stay when they visit? (We live in a 1 BHK+Study kind of apartment). The answer is simple - we either bunk in somehow, or we all shift into a resort or equivalent. There are plenty of home-stays nearby too.
Mohit - apologies for making this almost an essay, but I had to let flow.
We haven't bought, but rent a very modest apartment. And, very purposively, don't keep a car. Walk to the beach and the market, and rent a car when needed, capped at once a week, max.
If you don't own a car, how do you move about, given that there is no uber/ola? I have read/heard several horror stories of taxi mafia making it very hard for the tourists. Is this true of just an internet rumor?
I try to restrict my meed to move around. The beach is a 5 minute cycle ride away. The market a 2-minute walk. Yes, cabs are very expensive, so I rent a self-drive car once in 8-10 days if I need to go to the city.
Nicely written, Mohit. Which place in India, or the world, is free of some kind or other hazard? We in Kolkata live in terror. We have an old family mansion in what was once serene Bhubaneswar. But Bhubaneswar traffic and air has gone bonkers like all our two-tier cities, and even smaller towns, Jaipur, Udaipur, Pune, Vizag, Indore, Guwahati, Varanasi, and all. Same with towns and villages adjoining the big, mid-size and small towns I was in Shillong recently, the Switzerland of the East. It's turned hell with the cutting of hills, trees, rampant construction of 5-stars and mid-high-rises. Yes, beach sides like Goa, and Konkan, sound good. But for how long? Basic human nature is to destroy.
Beachside is often already high density in terms of people around, or not available for multiple reasons, or not close to quick access.
Yes, most towns and cities are already high density in terms of population.
Gangetic and Feudal belts are especially high density on population.
But there is so much more.
As a zero restart refugee offspring, I often think - we were lucky, we had the option of moving around.
This essay by Mohit was about air quality. Start from that simple parameter.
Where do you find clean air near, for example, Bhubaneshwar? (We have family there, too, btw, and Odisha is still wide open and very welcoming for tourists as well as has a lot of locations with clean air.)
I am a veteran who has had the benefit of my services tenure to be at the most pristine places of deployment and an ingrained love for fauna & fauna. I subscribe to your articles as I can recognise someone whose love for nature and environment is exceptional.
I have had a fairly broad spectrum of work experience after I took pre-mature retirement and am currently a small co-founder of the India based company who has technical collaboration with Airvoice Global in bringing a technology approach to resolve Air Quality Challenges.
I loved your article and wanted to ask your permission to qoute extracts from it in my LinkedIn post. I shall of course ascribe the source.
Medical professionals and general public have been screeming to find a solution and address the root cause insteadbof these patch work and blaming the "Other".
Sorry to read about the development. I was in Delhi last time in 2022 when we met and it was such a difference compared to my big city life and experience in Europe. Btw, me and Aditi are flying to Delhi in December since we are heading to her birthplace Pune.
No wonder the rush to emigrate…
I often wonder if Alistair MacLean was thinking of Gurgaon when he titled his bestseller ‘The Road to Dusty Death’.
Droll, but accurate.
13-14 years ago, we opted to buy a small apartment in a small village in the Konkan foothills, instead of adding yet another (and bigger) car to the garage in Delhi. Which was just as good, because the street values of the existing cars in Delhi touched rock bottom when the 10/15 year rules kicked in, and the village we invested and entrusted our lives to had the kind of air quality, water and peace of the sort seen only in documentaries about clean villages in India.
And then, in a few years, our village was blessed with an international airport (GOX/Mopa/Manohar International) 25-30kms and as many minutes pleasant drive through forest and bio-diversity away. (It already had a scenic railway station, THIVIM, also about 20-25 minutes pleasant drive away.)
Leaving Delhi is easy if one has the wherewithal. Or the motivation. I see a good number of people moving from urban India to the Konkan foothills of Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka. Good for them if they can merge with the culture and lifestyle.
But I would like to add one small request - leave if you can, but aim for a simpler lifestyle. There is really no need to bring the concept of large houses, big cars and high running expenses when shifting for cleaner air and water. These are what caused the problem in the first case in wherever people shifted from.
And yes, please rent for a full 12-month cycle, to get a better grip on what life really is about in the Konkan. Please do not rush into buying.
Another question I get is - medical? The answer is - when your air and water are cleaner, you tend to not fall sick so often; and for serious medical care, there is no dearth of medical tourism options.
Yet another question - where will the children / friends stay when they visit? (We live in a 1 BHK+Study kind of apartment). The answer is simple - we either bunk in somehow, or we all shift into a resort or equivalent. There are plenty of home-stays nearby too.
Mohit - apologies for making this almost an essay, but I had to let flow.
Good luck to all of us.
Veeresh Malik
Thanks, Veeresh.
We haven't bought, but rent a very modest apartment. And, very purposively, don't keep a car. Walk to the beach and the market, and rent a car when needed, capped at once a week, max.
If you don't own a car, how do you move about, given that there is no uber/ola? I have read/heard several horror stories of taxi mafia making it very hard for the tourists. Is this true of just an internet rumor?
I try to restrict my meed to move around. The beach is a 5 minute cycle ride away. The market a 2-minute walk. Yes, cabs are very expensive, so I rent a self-drive car once in 8-10 days if I need to go to the city.
We use local cabs often. And have never faced a problem. That's almost 50 years in and out of the Konkan and now mostly in the Konkan.
The quality of local cabs and local drivers makes the extra worth it. 1500/40/4 door to door add tips for meals, what more do I want?
Yes, for inter-State travel between MH / GA / KA, an own private car helps. There is so much more to do here where the air is clean because?
Because the body and brain needs less time to recoup so the sleep cycle is shorter too.
Buy or bring a small car is my suggestion.
Nicely written, Mohit. Which place in India, or the world, is free of some kind or other hazard? We in Kolkata live in terror. We have an old family mansion in what was once serene Bhubaneswar. But Bhubaneswar traffic and air has gone bonkers like all our two-tier cities, and even smaller towns, Jaipur, Udaipur, Pune, Vizag, Indore, Guwahati, Varanasi, and all. Same with towns and villages adjoining the big, mid-size and small towns I was in Shillong recently, the Switzerland of the East. It's turned hell with the cutting of hills, trees, rampant construction of 5-stars and mid-high-rises. Yes, beach sides like Goa, and Konkan, sound good. But for how long? Basic human nature is to destroy.
If I may respond?
Beachside is often already high density in terms of people around, or not available for multiple reasons, or not close to quick access.
Yes, most towns and cities are already high density in terms of population.
Gangetic and Feudal belts are especially high density on population.
But there is so much more.
As a zero restart refugee offspring, I often think - we were lucky, we had the option of moving around.
This essay by Mohit was about air quality. Start from that simple parameter.
Where do you find clean air near, for example, Bhubaneshwar? (We have family there, too, btw, and Odisha is still wide open and very welcoming for tourists as well as has a lot of locations with clean air.)
Sunil,
Our urban scenario is exceptionally grim, and the same lack of culture has spread to Tier 2 towns and hill-stations.
It's very difficult to conceive what might deflect this path towards unremitting ugliness, yet one must observe, perhaps protest, and maybe even hope.
Good morning Mohit,
I am a veteran who has had the benefit of my services tenure to be at the most pristine places of deployment and an ingrained love for fauna & fauna. I subscribe to your articles as I can recognise someone whose love for nature and environment is exceptional.
I have had a fairly broad spectrum of work experience after I took pre-mature retirement and am currently a small co-founder of the India based company who has technical collaboration with Airvoice Global in bringing a technology approach to resolve Air Quality Challenges.
I loved your article and wanted to ask your permission to qoute extracts from it in my LinkedIn post. I shall of course ascribe the source.
War. Regards,
Ashwini
With pleasure, Ashwini.
Medical professionals and general public have been screeming to find a solution and address the root cause insteadbof these patch work and blaming the "Other".
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQLx7o3Elwy/?igsh=MWg1YnMzcHVxNG5lMQ==
Sorry to read about the development. I was in Delhi last time in 2022 when we met and it was such a difference compared to my big city life and experience in Europe. Btw, me and Aditi are flying to Delhi in December since we are heading to her birthplace Pune.
AI art is quite off-putting. Can you please consider using real images instead in your posts? I am sure they would be more impactful.
Challenging, but worth trying.
Thanks