Here's a list of KGF shafts that I remember:-
Edgar's Shaft
Henry's Shaft
Bullen's Shaft
Tenant's Shaft
Gifford Shaft
Oriental Shaft
Golconda Shaft
McTaggart's Shaft ( I think there was one by this name)
Am inviting people to add to this list.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Friday, January 14, 2011
1989 & 1990-- You never know what fate has in store for you
The start of a new year-1989. Little did I know that by the end of the year, I would be contemplating purchase of an apartment--- but I'm getting ahead of my story.
Meanwhile, let me rewind a little bit back to 1988.When I joined Xomox in 1987, I was clearly told that I would have to shift to Trichy in 1988 for the new school year.
After I returned from Bangladesh in Feb 1988, I even visited some schools in Trichy to enquire about admission for Sachin and Sandeep. Sudha and I had by now become active members in Kannada Balaga and the thought of leaving all our friends behind was gut-wrenching.The Ladies program of 1988 was very poignant as everyone thought it would be our last program with the Balaga.
By a remarkable stroke of luck, there were some changes in the Organization and the idea of my relocating to Trichy was given up. So that was that.
In April 1989, we planned a trip to Delhi, Dehra Dun, Hardwar, Rishikesh, Mussoorie and Agra.Mummy and Sunil came along with us.We travelled by Tamilnadu Express to delhi and Prasanna Uncle had very kindly arranged our stay at the ONGC Guest House at the Asiad Games Village in Delhi.We left straightaway for Dehra Dun and spent a very pleasant time with Prasanna, Lambi and Prasanna's mother who was in her sprightly eighties.They took us to Rishikesh and Mussoorie.The dip in Kempty Falls and the splashing about in Sahastradhara are unforgettable.
Back in Delhi, we did the rounds of Red Fort, Qutub Minar, Connaught place and Pragathi Maidan.The kids got into the dashing cars in Pragathi Maidan.The going got a little rough and the car which had Sunil got into a violent collision with another car and Sunil lost two of his teeth in the process.
We travelled to Agra by the newly introduced Shatabdi Express and it was a very pleasant experience.We saw Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri and returned to Delhi. We then took the K-K Express to Bangalore and deposited Sunil back.
In 1988, our apartment owner Mr.M.A.Krishnaswamy had passed away and his wife was now our landlady.In October 1989, Mrs.Krishnaswamy also passed away.The apartment had been willed to the three married daughters of the Krishnaswamys.In Nov 1989, the three sons-in-law ( all of whom were living outside of Madras) came to me and told me that they were looking to sell the apartment.
This was already our 6th house in Madras and the thought of moving out once again was too horrible to contemplate.Moreover, the children were already going to school and we had to keep in mind the convenience for bus transport. Then the other mundane stuff like new milk card, new postal address, new servant maid, new newspaper guy, telephone shift....... I had nightmares thinking about this. I had just bought a flat in Bangalore in 1985 and we had no intention of buying a property in Madras. After much thought, it occurred to me that the only way to avoid all hassles of shifting was to buy the Madras flat.
It was convenient in all respects.Where to get the money? I didn't even start thinking on these lines.I didn't even know whether I could get another loan from HDFC when I already had one loan going.
Then I had a stroke of luck. My company entered into an agreement with HDFC ( Housing Development Finance Corporation) and they extended a line of credit to my Organization whereby an employee could avail a loan up to Rs.3 Lakhs.I applied to my company and was informed that I could be granted this facility.
The next step was to start negotiations with the owners.They quoted Rs.6 Lakhs and I started at Rs.4 Lakhs.I had one advantage. I was already living in the place and had physical possession of the apartment.As far as they were concerned, this was inherited property and any sale proceeds would be split 3 ways.We finally closed the deal at Rs.4.3 Lakhs. For a 1350 sq ft flat with a garage thrown in, it wasn't a bad deal. How this 1350 sq ft stretched to 2440 sq ft is another story that I'll relate later.
Together with the lawyer's fees, registration charges and other sundry expenses, the total amount came to Rs.4.8L and I stretched all my resources to come up with the amount.
The registration date was fixed for 21st Mar 1990 ( my 39th birthday). We completed the formalities and then I had to leave the next day for Ooty for offical work.
My next problem was to how to repay the loan.The EMI was Rs.4173 per month and I was already paying Rs.679 per month for the earlier loan I had taken for the Bangalore flat. I was earlier paying a rent of Rs.1200 per month for the Madras flat, so this was straightaway an increase of Rs.3000 per month ( a very big sum in those days). But we managed. When I now think about it, I wonder why I was worried over such a small amount..... but there's a lesson in this for all of us.Especially in India where inflation is relatively high, it's good to invest in property at a young age. Someone once said" The earth is not going to expand" and I've remembered this to this day.
The rest of 1990 passed off peacefully. I was busy in my work and travelled frequently within India.
My next blog will cover the tumultuous political events in India including the economic crisis, Rajiv Gandhi's assassination, the general elections and then the economic liberalization measures--- a watershed year in India by any yardstick.
Meanwhile, let me rewind a little bit back to 1988.When I joined Xomox in 1987, I was clearly told that I would have to shift to Trichy in 1988 for the new school year.
After I returned from Bangladesh in Feb 1988, I even visited some schools in Trichy to enquire about admission for Sachin and Sandeep. Sudha and I had by now become active members in Kannada Balaga and the thought of leaving all our friends behind was gut-wrenching.The Ladies program of 1988 was very poignant as everyone thought it would be our last program with the Balaga.
By a remarkable stroke of luck, there were some changes in the Organization and the idea of my relocating to Trichy was given up. So that was that.
In April 1989, we planned a trip to Delhi, Dehra Dun, Hardwar, Rishikesh, Mussoorie and Agra.Mummy and Sunil came along with us.We travelled by Tamilnadu Express to delhi and Prasanna Uncle had very kindly arranged our stay at the ONGC Guest House at the Asiad Games Village in Delhi.We left straightaway for Dehra Dun and spent a very pleasant time with Prasanna, Lambi and Prasanna's mother who was in her sprightly eighties.They took us to Rishikesh and Mussoorie.The dip in Kempty Falls and the splashing about in Sahastradhara are unforgettable.
Back in Delhi, we did the rounds of Red Fort, Qutub Minar, Connaught place and Pragathi Maidan.The kids got into the dashing cars in Pragathi Maidan.The going got a little rough and the car which had Sunil got into a violent collision with another car and Sunil lost two of his teeth in the process.
We travelled to Agra by the newly introduced Shatabdi Express and it was a very pleasant experience.We saw Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri and returned to Delhi. We then took the K-K Express to Bangalore and deposited Sunil back.
In 1988, our apartment owner Mr.M.A.Krishnaswamy had passed away and his wife was now our landlady.In October 1989, Mrs.Krishnaswamy also passed away.The apartment had been willed to the three married daughters of the Krishnaswamys.In Nov 1989, the three sons-in-law ( all of whom were living outside of Madras) came to me and told me that they were looking to sell the apartment.
This was already our 6th house in Madras and the thought of moving out once again was too horrible to contemplate.Moreover, the children were already going to school and we had to keep in mind the convenience for bus transport. Then the other mundane stuff like new milk card, new postal address, new servant maid, new newspaper guy, telephone shift....... I had nightmares thinking about this. I had just bought a flat in Bangalore in 1985 and we had no intention of buying a property in Madras. After much thought, it occurred to me that the only way to avoid all hassles of shifting was to buy the Madras flat.
It was convenient in all respects.Where to get the money? I didn't even start thinking on these lines.I didn't even know whether I could get another loan from HDFC when I already had one loan going.
Then I had a stroke of luck. My company entered into an agreement with HDFC ( Housing Development Finance Corporation) and they extended a line of credit to my Organization whereby an employee could avail a loan up to Rs.3 Lakhs.I applied to my company and was informed that I could be granted this facility.
The next step was to start negotiations with the owners.They quoted Rs.6 Lakhs and I started at Rs.4 Lakhs.I had one advantage. I was already living in the place and had physical possession of the apartment.As far as they were concerned, this was inherited property and any sale proceeds would be split 3 ways.We finally closed the deal at Rs.4.3 Lakhs. For a 1350 sq ft flat with a garage thrown in, it wasn't a bad deal. How this 1350 sq ft stretched to 2440 sq ft is another story that I'll relate later.
Together with the lawyer's fees, registration charges and other sundry expenses, the total amount came to Rs.4.8L and I stretched all my resources to come up with the amount.
The registration date was fixed for 21st Mar 1990 ( my 39th birthday). We completed the formalities and then I had to leave the next day for Ooty for offical work.
My next problem was to how to repay the loan.The EMI was Rs.4173 per month and I was already paying Rs.679 per month for the earlier loan I had taken for the Bangalore flat. I was earlier paying a rent of Rs.1200 per month for the Madras flat, so this was straightaway an increase of Rs.3000 per month ( a very big sum in those days). But we managed. When I now think about it, I wonder why I was worried over such a small amount..... but there's a lesson in this for all of us.Especially in India where inflation is relatively high, it's good to invest in property at a young age. Someone once said" The earth is not going to expand" and I've remembered this to this day.
The rest of 1990 passed off peacefully. I was busy in my work and travelled frequently within India.
My next blog will cover the tumultuous political events in India including the economic crisis, Rajiv Gandhi's assassination, the general elections and then the economic liberalization measures--- a watershed year in India by any yardstick.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)