Many upwardly mobile Indians are now investing in a home away from home in a bid to get away from the hustle-bustle of overcrowded cities. Baishali Mukherjee reports
Busy office schedules and no time for holidays? It's been a long time that you have stepped out from the daily grind of home-office-home? Still thinking wistfully for a long break, which seems elusive? Think of a distinctly relaxing experience that acts as a stress buster. Just imagine a beautiful home of your own situated a few kilometers away from your place that can be your weekend gate-away, short but effective enough to rejuvenate your energy.
What was the trait of the rich and the famous in the past is gradually becoming more common among the upper middle class in the country. Tapan Chatterjee, a civil servant working for the central government, built a house after his retirement investing all his life savings, but his son Indranil, a software engineer in New Delhi has already booked his second home in Gurgaon - "Weekend Sanctuary" as Indranil likes to call it. And he is not a stand- alone in this pursuit.
Real-estate companies have caught on to this new trend and are coming up with projects in distant places away from the din and bustle of the metros. Ooty, Kodaikanal, Yercaud and Munnar in the south, Lonavala, Kamshet, Khandala and Panchgani in the west, and Mussoorie, Shimla, Manali and Naintal in the north are the newly preferred real estate investment destinations. Slightly less famous but catching up quickly in the high property stakes are Yelagiri, Ponmudi, Chikmagalur, Kumbalgarh, Kasauni and Landour and Shirol, Igatpuri, Neral, Muradabad and so on.
Just few kilometers away from New Delhi, located in the heart of Gurgaon is 'The Palms- town and country club'. The beautiful club has tall trees and manicured lawns to distinguish it from the crowded surroundings nearby. The lush green gardens, two blocks of rooms and suits, fine dining experience with world-class restaurants and loads of recreational activities are all set to add enthusiasm to the owner's life. Being a country club, it offers extensive sporting and recreational facilities; within the premises is a large pool, a tennis court (Mahesh Bhupati Tennis Academy), billiards room and a fitness centre named Ozone for gymnasium, aerobics and yoga.
However, access to all these facilities comes at a price as one needs to be a member of this club. But the amount you pay for becoming a member ensures you an outing every weekend because a monthly calendar full of events and activities like theme parties, supper theatre, musical concerts and extravaganzas, pool parties, cultural events are organized on a regular basis.
"We realise the importance of a family outing or corporate get-togethers and this is the reason why we offer special discounts to all our members. The monthly calendar is organized to brighten their evenings and we keep our member informed over e-mails and newsletters", says an official of The Palms.
Whereas in most part of the country it's mainly the hill stations that the real estate players are eyeing as sites for second homes, in Bengal it's the countryside and the banks of river Ganga that have taken the fancy of real estate developers. Leading developers in this part of the country are up to offering you "an abode of peace" over the weekend, which you can actually own.
It all started with "Sonar Taree", a comprehensive housing complex of duplex bungalows at Santiniketan (Tagore's 'Abode of Peace'), 300 km off Kolkata. Sonar Taree boasts of parks, play grounds, a Club, a market, a multi-cuisine restaurant and a residential doctor's chamber and a hospital.
"We've developed this property as a second home destination for people of Kolkata. They are so stressed these days that they yearn to relax over the weekend. We thought why can't we give them something, which will be their own and where they can unwind? Thus came the idea of 'Sonar Taree'," says Kumar Sankar Bagchi, managing director, Bengal Peerless Housing Development Company, which has built this property jointly with Sriniketan Santiniktan Development Authority.
Dhrubajyoti Nandy, a retired corporate house vice-president, bought a house in Santiniketan six years ago. He wanted to take out some money from his stock-options and invest it in a landed property. "Besides, both I and my wife also wanted a place to unwind from the daily rigmarole. Santiniketan was my wife's choice as she had been a student of Visva Bharati, the university founded by Rabindranath Tagore, while I wanted it by a riverside, preferably at a confluence. But both of us fell in love with a property that was shown to us at Santiniketan," he says.
Like many affluent Kolkatans he is now a regular in Santiniketan on weekends. "I must admit that I wouldn't get as rich a neighbourhood as here. You are surrounded by singers, painters, sculptors, teachers, researchers who think differently. Tell me in which other place in India will you find a Nobel laureate walking casually in your neighbourhood (Amartya Sen has his house here)."
Diptangshu Mondal, a young entrepreneur running his publishing business also selected Santiniketan as his weekend refuge. "I need to go through a lot of stress the entire week and cannot manage time for my family. Even during the weekends something or the other used to crop up. This made me decide to find a weekend gate-away and Santiniketan attracted me the most. Now on most of the weekends I am off to my refuge with my family and spend quality time with them," he says.
The success of Sonar Taree has brought in other developers to jump into the band wagon. 'Renaissance', a 256 acre township in Burdwan, 110 km off Kolkata is projected as the next luxury holiday destination in the state. Being developed by the Kolkata-based Shrachi Group and Burdwan Developers Pvt Ltd, Renaissance is a self-contained unit with facilities like banks and financial institutions, community centre and a recreation club, a banquet hall, gymnasium, tennis court, kids' zone, swimming pool, an open air theatre, fine dining restaurant, gym, children's play area, spa and wellness centre, and shopping mall.
"The whole idea is to strike a balance between the contemporary lifestyle and Bengal's rich culture and values. These bungalows amidst lush greens will have something special in store for everyone. The advantage is even if you are holidaying, you are not feeling alienated," a spokesman of Shrachi Developer said. Designed by the Delhi based Morphogenesis Architecture Studio, the entire township will be constructed in harmony with nature.
People are also moving out of their own state in search of a second home. Sanjay Dey, a young entrepreneur of Kolkata, has booked his second home in the "Farmville" housing project in Dehradun.
Nilesh Biswas, Director, Calcutta Skyline, a leading realty consultant and marketing firm, feels that there are advantages in buying a second home, be it at a hill station or at some other exotic location. "The banks are willing to finance up to 70 per cent of the cost in clear and approved dealings. Buyers, too, prefer, as access to property and a scenic location are the key criteria. Then there are dual benefits: instead of spending a fortune in hotels, it's wiser to invest in a second home which can serve as a holiday home while being an lifelong asset," he points out.
Obviously, many belonging to the burgeoning middle class population of the country agree, going by the boom in sale of 'second homes.'
Busy office schedules and no time for holidays? It's been a long time that you have stepped out from the daily grind of home-office-home? Still thinking wistfully for a long break, which seems elusive? Think of a distinctly relaxing experience that acts as a stress buster. Just imagine a beautiful home of your own situated a few kilometers away from your place that can be your weekend gate-away, short but effective enough to rejuvenate your energy.
What was the trait of the rich and the famous in the past is gradually becoming more common among the upper middle class in the country. Tapan Chatterjee, a civil servant working for the central government, built a house after his retirement investing all his life savings, but his son Indranil, a software engineer in New Delhi has already booked his second home in Gurgaon - "Weekend Sanctuary" as Indranil likes to call it. And he is not a stand- alone in this pursuit.
Real-estate companies have caught on to this new trend and are coming up with projects in distant places away from the din and bustle of the metros. Ooty, Kodaikanal, Yercaud and Munnar in the south, Lonavala, Kamshet, Khandala and Panchgani in the west, and Mussoorie, Shimla, Manali and Naintal in the north are the newly preferred real estate investment destinations. Slightly less famous but catching up quickly in the high property stakes are Yelagiri, Ponmudi, Chikmagalur, Kumbalgarh, Kasauni and Landour and Shirol, Igatpuri, Neral, Muradabad and so on.
Just few kilometers away from New Delhi, located in the heart of Gurgaon is 'The Palms- town and country club'. The beautiful club has tall trees and manicured lawns to distinguish it from the crowded surroundings nearby. The lush green gardens, two blocks of rooms and suits, fine dining experience with world-class restaurants and loads of recreational activities are all set to add enthusiasm to the owner's life. Being a country club, it offers extensive sporting and recreational facilities; within the premises is a large pool, a tennis court (Mahesh Bhupati Tennis Academy), billiards room and a fitness centre named Ozone for gymnasium, aerobics and yoga.
However, access to all these facilities comes at a price as one needs to be a member of this club. But the amount you pay for becoming a member ensures you an outing every weekend because a monthly calendar full of events and activities like theme parties, supper theatre, musical concerts and extravaganzas, pool parties, cultural events are organized on a regular basis.
"We realise the importance of a family outing or corporate get-togethers and this is the reason why we offer special discounts to all our members. The monthly calendar is organized to brighten their evenings and we keep our member informed over e-mails and newsletters", says an official of The Palms.
Whereas in most part of the country it's mainly the hill stations that the real estate players are eyeing as sites for second homes, in Bengal it's the countryside and the banks of river Ganga that have taken the fancy of real estate developers. Leading developers in this part of the country are up to offering you "an abode of peace" over the weekend, which you can actually own.
It all started with "Sonar Taree", a comprehensive housing complex of duplex bungalows at Santiniketan (Tagore's 'Abode of Peace'), 300 km off Kolkata. Sonar Taree boasts of parks, play grounds, a Club, a market, a multi-cuisine restaurant and a residential doctor's chamber and a hospital.
"We've developed this property as a second home destination for people of Kolkata. They are so stressed these days that they yearn to relax over the weekend. We thought why can't we give them something, which will be their own and where they can unwind? Thus came the idea of 'Sonar Taree'," says Kumar Sankar Bagchi, managing director, Bengal Peerless Housing Development Company, which has built this property jointly with Sriniketan Santiniktan Development Authority.
Dhrubajyoti Nandy, a retired corporate house vice-president, bought a house in Santiniketan six years ago. He wanted to take out some money from his stock-options and invest it in a landed property. "Besides, both I and my wife also wanted a place to unwind from the daily rigmarole. Santiniketan was my wife's choice as she had been a student of Visva Bharati, the university founded by Rabindranath Tagore, while I wanted it by a riverside, preferably at a confluence. But both of us fell in love with a property that was shown to us at Santiniketan," he says.
Like many affluent Kolkatans he is now a regular in Santiniketan on weekends. "I must admit that I wouldn't get as rich a neighbourhood as here. You are surrounded by singers, painters, sculptors, teachers, researchers who think differently. Tell me in which other place in India will you find a Nobel laureate walking casually in your neighbourhood (Amartya Sen has his house here)."
Diptangshu Mondal, a young entrepreneur running his publishing business also selected Santiniketan as his weekend refuge. "I need to go through a lot of stress the entire week and cannot manage time for my family. Even during the weekends something or the other used to crop up. This made me decide to find a weekend gate-away and Santiniketan attracted me the most. Now on most of the weekends I am off to my refuge with my family and spend quality time with them," he says.
The success of Sonar Taree has brought in other developers to jump into the band wagon. 'Renaissance', a 256 acre township in Burdwan, 110 km off Kolkata is projected as the next luxury holiday destination in the state. Being developed by the Kolkata-based Shrachi Group and Burdwan Developers Pvt Ltd, Renaissance is a self-contained unit with facilities like banks and financial institutions, community centre and a recreation club, a banquet hall, gymnasium, tennis court, kids' zone, swimming pool, an open air theatre, fine dining restaurant, gym, children's play area, spa and wellness centre, and shopping mall.
"The whole idea is to strike a balance between the contemporary lifestyle and Bengal's rich culture and values. These bungalows amidst lush greens will have something special in store for everyone. The advantage is even if you are holidaying, you are not feeling alienated," a spokesman of Shrachi Developer said. Designed by the Delhi based Morphogenesis Architecture Studio, the entire township will be constructed in harmony with nature.
People are also moving out of their own state in search of a second home. Sanjay Dey, a young entrepreneur of Kolkata, has booked his second home in the "Farmville" housing project in Dehradun.
Nilesh Biswas, Director, Calcutta Skyline, a leading realty consultant and marketing firm, feels that there are advantages in buying a second home, be it at a hill station or at some other exotic location. "The banks are willing to finance up to 70 per cent of the cost in clear and approved dealings. Buyers, too, prefer, as access to property and a scenic location are the key criteria. Then there are dual benefits: instead of spending a fortune in hotels, it's wiser to invest in a second home which can serve as a holiday home while being an lifelong asset," he points out.
Obviously, many belonging to the burgeoning middle class population of the country agree, going by the boom in sale of 'second homes.'
Text & Image: Trans World Features/ Baishali Mukherjee
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