NEIGHBOUR’S PRIDE – OWNER’S ENVY (24-Dec-2020)

“Neighbour’s Envy, Owner’s Pride” was Onida TV’s tagline which enraptured the hearts of Indian families around mid-80s.  Onida’s green devil sported horns with a ludicrous laugh, frightful fingernails, and a threatening tail that vaulted into our houses through their brand of TV set.  This unconventional ad campaign catapulted the sales of our own Indian product, backed by quality and snazzy looks.  It was an instant hit with school kids, much to the chagrin of their parents, who dressed-up unabashedly as the devil in their school fancy-dress competitions.  The devil indeed ruled the roost!

Thirty-five years on, the modern-day city life has triggered a twist to the above tagline.  My parents own an independent house and prided on the ample parking in front of their house.  Our city grew the residential area activities as well, any lung space on our roads indeed a rarity.  Space to park a two-wheeler are magically converted into a four-wheeler parking slot; the driver disappears with utter disdain with pain he has inflicted on the residents.  Once used to be an owner’s pride transformed into a matter of envy!

We fell two old and termite-infested trees at the two ends of our compound in front of our house and planted young trees – Parijata or night-flowering jasmine and Devakanagale (Plumeria).  Neighbourhood walkers left their trash bags around these plants which caused nuisance, and hence we built a concrete platform around them to act as a deterrent.  Now the neighbours who walk their dogs allowed them to go around these platforms that has created a stench, but to our distaste the fragrant flowers are picked too.  Our prized possession no doubt, today relegated to our neighbours pride and our own envy!

Increased disposable income have helped Indian families to flaunt their wealth both within and outside their houses.  Many houses have a monitor inside hooked to a camera outside to track any suspicious movements.  A neighbour of ours prided the display of bright bloomed and colourful flowers in their front planters’ boxes.  However, folks in the neighbourhood found this as their ‘perfect spot’ as they posed and re-posed for the selfie clicks to adore their own social-media wall as well plucked the beautiful flowers that created a mayhem of sorts. A view of the recordings being the root cause of misery – neighbours’ many pride moments but an owner’s envy!

It is beyond my rationale mind to grasp the obsession that some people pluck flowers from other people’s garden and offer to propitiate their Gods at home.  A senior citizen lady who is the owner of a large mansion in our neighbourhood is habituated to pluck flowers during her evening walks - a kleptomaniac?  I had noticed that she had plucked flowers from our planters’ box too.  One day though, she dug her hand deep, as I watched helplessly from the window, into the soil and pulled our most favourite begonia plant with its roots.  I accosted her and her walk mate as she turned our street and asked her in a humble manner if she had plucked anything from our garden.  The stolen plant in a plastic bag held behind her back, she answered in the negative which prompted me to raise my voice.  She offered the plant back to me but with no remorse.  I had no choice but to order her to plant it back to where it belonged and water it too.

A Neighbour’s pride and an Owner’s envy situation was indeed reversed!