8.8.05

What's in a word?

We spoke too soon. On Saturday morning S and I got a rude shock. We went to sign the lease for our new apartment. I was supposed to rush for an interview with a fashion designer right after and he had called up to confirm the time and place. So I excused myself for a few seconds during which I absent-mindedly noticed the landlady showing S a room on her floor that was unoccupied. Even while I was busy noting down what Mr Designer was saying I kept thinking, Why the fuck is she showing a new room to S?

I finished my call just as she too was done. She led the way back to the drawing room. Where her son (this tall gangly guy with hair tied into a knot on the head), says S, was busy applying a face pack and peeking from the loo (it was right opposite to where S was seated). He also put on some music way too loud till his sister yelled and he relented to lower the volume.

Anyways, in between all these distractions I realised the landlady was saying that some guy working with a 5-star hotel had shifted his stuff into the apartment. So could we adjust and stay in a room on her floor, use the loo on the terrace and share her kitchen if at all we cooked? (The latter she was insistent about since she was under the impression that we never cooked).

I was dumbfounded as was S. One look at her face and I saw it had become very grim. I covered my face for a second. The landlady kept staring and saying, "You are like my daughter Simran. We will keep you like her." When we told her that we had irregular working hours, she said, "Of course you will not be using the kitchen at 2 in the morning will you?" Next we suggested that the guy was single and he could easily do with the room she was now offering us. "No actually the hotel is paying for the place through cheque." What was that supposed to mean?

Then she and her husband took us to the terrace to show us the loo. (I felt shrieking at her, "Well would you have let Simran go to a loo on the terrace of a house to shit or pee?") Was this happening? I was ready to cry right then. Here we had given notice to our present landlord and was ready mentally to live in the new house.

Not only had this woman duped us, she had dealt us an underhand blow. For money. She had never even bothered to call us and let us know about it. Damn it, she had given usher word that the apartment was ours for the taking.

So we left our prospective new place with no lease in hand, with no place to live in after the 15th of this month unless our present landlord was thoughtful enough.

Sunday morning: E left for Bombay. We dropped her, came back and went through the classifieds desperate for some ray of light. We went through some 5-6 shitty houses in a place which I had always thought to be shady. Depressed like hell, we landed in another area of the city and walked into some vague property dealer's office. After we trudged back and forth between the broker's office and some three other houses, I can say proudly that it's official. (Touche) We have a new house. And yes, this time we paid some money in advance right on the spot. We are gonna sign the lease today. So I will be a really (I mean really really) broke individual starting today.

17 comments:

PS said...

You know what, that's exactly why curses were invented for, curse the bloody women and forget it like a bad dream....
its only when you crash into people like her that you appreciate the nicer ones in the world, don't you :)
and congrats on getting a new job :)

PS said...

opps, new flat (sheepish grin)...

Anonymous said...

I wouldn't mind the former. Since September has always been the month when I somehow land up with a new job, I am feeling a bit restless:)

mad angles said...

I almost gasped at that faux pas - what PS, freudian slip huh? Don't blame her AB, this place sucks so bad that all we're wishing for all the time is a new job, new life, new city, bladibladibla.............

Rat said...

Shit, what a bitch !!All this "you are my like daughter "gyan they give is such bullshit.
I've have this told to me by a landlady once and she finally threw us out using "Noise and Boys" as a reason when actually she just found a tenant who was willing to pay a higher rent.
Glad you found the new place and I totally empathise with what you must have gone through. Hugs!!

Jay said...

Man, that sounds awful. I'm a little confused by the chronology of the events though - does the 'Sunday morning' bit mean you've now got a place, and you and S are no longer in desperate need of a big refrigerator packing box to live in?

And I totally agree with garfy - killing someone like that would simply be considered a public service.

Penny Lane said...

Since you've already found a nice new apartment, is it ok for me to laugh at your story... the landlady sounds damn funny :)

Anonymous said...

Essar: You forgot to add new guy (wink wink)

Rat: So you have been through it as well. Nothing can be worse than people backing out on their word na?

Garfy: Thanks. I swear I could have killed her especially when she insisted on taking us to the loo.

Parna: You know what, she actually has a fat one and a huge cleavage too:) I had thought of calling her but then who wants to deal with scum like that.

And about the HWP, we will be so bloody broke. Already I can foresee a poverty-ridden existence. My parents are a lifesaver.

Jay: No now we are gonna move into a nice quaint house. Yay!

Penny: Yeah now you are allowed a laugh. Actually she was funnier when we went to meet her the first time. After which I returned home and couldn't stop laughing for at least 5 minutes.

Vignesh said...

And I didn't even get a 'You are like my son' shit. All I got was a cold stare from the man who then said, 'I have two daughters, of marriageable age'. I said, wow, thats a coincidence. So am I.

Obviously I didn't get that house.

thalassa_mikra said...

What a calculating crone! But I'd rather deal with the money hungry wheeling-dealing types than the morality-spewing I'm-better-than-you bharatiya naris.

Anonymous said...

Vignesh: So you are a threat to daughters of marriagable age huh? (cheesy grin)

Thalassa: The latter was a later stage thing here you know if we had got the apartment. I have only one word for her - BITCH. But I swear something, that talking about it here has made me less irritated about the whole thing.

Sukanya C said...

Hi there,

Got a feeling of deja vu when i came upon ur blog and read your post. Am in a similar predicament myself, our landlord having given us notice -- and we too have to shift by the 15th...and having had any luck so far! Happy settling down.

Anonymous said...

SaintFaron: Hey there. So you haven't got a house till now? If it's your landlord who has given you the notice you better get cracking down on it.

hemangini said...

so are you guys at jungpura now? or was that the House That Fell Through?

Anonymous said...

mangs: We will be there finally on Sunday. The other house, The One That Fell Through is not in the extension area where we are moving.

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