4th February 2009 - A nest in the ferns for birds of paradise

Today, I got a text message on my mobile phone. It was Bindu Thampy to tell me that the construction of a shed had begun in plot 313 in Ferns City or somewhere near it, in preparation for the excavation for foundation and a couple of sumps. Let me explain the context:

Back in 2000, Pushpa and I bought a small plot of land in the Ferns City layout in Marthahalli in Bangalore. Last year we decided that we wanted to build a house there and hopefully stay there when we finally went back to India. Bindu Thampy a close friend from childhood (maybe my teenage), one of the more aesthetically blessed ones among my gang-members and more importantly the only practising architect in the gang, is the architect and project manager for this venture. We gave Bindu a General Power of Attorney and she is managing the mission.

Pushpa and I and our bump were really thrilled to get the message because finally we had set sail on this voyage. We've already had to weather a few storms even before we started - a lot of confusion around Sakrama fees to be paid for all the sins Ferns Builders have committed in this life, getting a new Khataa from BBMP after a change in beaureaucratic structure passed control of such things from the Mahadevpura panchayat to BBMP (our good friend Prijeed wore out two chappals in this effort besides greasing them to the tune of Rs 7500) , the endless fun of having our house plan approved by BBMP (they tend to prefer approving their own off-the-shelf plan and later charge us a fine for having deviated from it), tracking down our neighbours on all sides and getting an NOC from them actually this was the easiest bit as they were all very nice to us, dealing with the long list of rules that has been put in place by the smart birds who've already nested there etc

Considering all this, it's been a thrilling day for all of us.

I intend to write a reasonably regular blog on this project, not least because it might prove useful in our future ventures but also because years from now it might be interesting (I dare say) to read this diary and relive the nest building days.