Gandhidham!

Why did I find the need to start blogging again?
Well....I suddenly found myself in the strange town of Gandhidham!
Or GDD as I call it affectionately!

Why blogging again?
Well....I found myself with nothing constructive to do after 9pm on Weekdays and through Weekends!

Why blogging?
Well....Its to feed your brain with some superb stuff!

Blogging is where the emotional me lives. And the emotional me needs a home again. So... Here goes.

Well...a little about Gandhidham...
Located in the Kutch district of Gujarat, this dusty, dry town has a population of 3.5 lakh odd people. Since it is located only about 12 kms from Kandla (which happens to be one of the busiest ports in Western India), the town is home to a wide variety of people, all of whose business card would merely state "Import Export" ireespective of what they really do! (For more gyaan, cut to Wikipedia please!)

Also, the town is located only 60 kms away from Bhuj (the epicentre of the devastating 2001 earthquake, which measured 6.8 on the Richter).

My current job as a trader in an MNC (in the true sense) needs me to be stationed here in this dry town (please note that the word DRY has numerous implications and is one of the greatest causes of worry to me! Not to mention the weight loss it can cause!).

The town is a hub for people dealing in a wide variety of goods and commodities ranging from Textiles to Cotton to Rice to Timber.
Coming to Timber. The town is simply a collection of houses sorrounded on the periphery by large timber yards! One can look North, South, East and West and one would only see Logs! and Saw Mills! and Planks! and Bars! and Saw Dust!!

There happens to be an airport (err...aerodrome sorry) dedicated to the city. A quaint little pink building serves the purpose here! No baggage carousel! No extensive secutiry check! No waiting room! Heck...Its more like a waiting room at a train station with an X-Ray machine! It serves as an airport for exactly one hour every morning (from 7am-8am). This is simply because it caters to one sole flight which comes in from Mumbai every morning and retraces its flight path almost immediately with Mumbai bound commuters.

The work culture here is very simple.
People hate the sun. It is sunny throughout the year.
Work starts at 10am every day (9am for people like me who enjoy the status of being employed by an MNC!) and carries on till its lunch time. Then its all about siesta time till 5ish before getting back to wwrap up with work for the day!!
Evenings are typically spent trying to beat the 'dryness'!! Their ability to "import" (using diplomatic and legal terminology!) dryness busters from neighbouring states amazes nearly everyone.

A peculiar thing about the town is the fact that a significant part of the population is comprised of by Delhi-ites! One step closer to home I must say.

Another amazing thing about the place is the real estate boom its undergoing and has been experiencing ever since 2001.
Industrial property prices have appreciated by around (Hold your breath!) 4000% from 2001 through today!
Yes! I did say 4000%!
Makes you think you missed the bus eh? Boy! You sure did!
Well....after the earthquake which destroyed nearly everything, land was cheaper than a lot of other assets around. The localites, being the visionaries that they are, pumped all their family fortunes into land. Add Narendra Modi into the equation along with the increase in importance of Kandla port and Lo Behold! We get Crore-patis many times over...

The town also has multiple hotels. Small and Smaller, these cater to all the temporary traders who come in here as part of their day to day business routine. Also, not to mention the 'phoren' shippeies who land up at Kandla port in one of their merchant vessels.

Finally, the town has 3 multiplexes! Yes 3 multiplexes with 3-4 theatres each! At any point in time, it is rumored that only 5/7 seats are occupied and that too by serious movie-goers! Well...not too surprising when the only movie playing today is Dostana!! Haha...

More updates later. Ciao for now...