Accommodation in Ahmednagar: Scaling the wall of uncertainty by Puneet Rajhans

Accommodation in Ahmednagar

This is a tale that has fewer missing links. Whenever I have made a successful attempt to reach A’nagar, the first wall of uncertainty has to do with securing an accommodation which won’t be hard on my pockets. The budget, linked to the duration of stay, and on most of the occasions the stay stretching between a week to a fortnight, the mandatory adjustments have to be factored in.
The first hurdle to be scaled is on the identity front, as the solitary state of affairs doesn’t shower me with any measurable benefits; in fact acting as a big impediment. The man on the other side of the desk runs a quick and clinical check on how blissful/rewarding is my appearance from top to toe and once assured of my ability to furnish the requisite cash for the entire stay takes the level of interaction to the next stage. Protestations followed with furnishing of identity card and the fickle-cum-roaming assignments I handle doesn’t make him an assured entity with the sole concern being to fleece to the maximum from one who has minimum foundation. Even Exasperation looks doesn’t force him to drop the shrewd quotient by a point or two as he is well within his right to fleece and seize.
Coming to the different situations, if the room rent is inexorably high, the first commitment from my side is to leave the premises and begin the search afresh for livable accommodation. If at other points the man is comfortable enough with my checking in as a sole bird, I am least comfortable with the rate he has suggested.

Negotiations not even half way through I move to the next destination and this not-so-endearing tale finally comes to an end at a place where post furnishing of identity papers and room rent the negotiated rate is for a room that is miniscule in size, located at the far end of the structure and more likely just below the terrace. Settled, the pattern of adjustments come in close quarters with myself just tuned to the prospects of keeping glued to the proceedings at the temple and more oblivious to the unwelcome developments in and around my room. On a macro scale, with accommodation question settled all missing links start falling in place, beginning with the meals that come with greater ease. The Prasadalaya is the one to get the meals from and once the commute hurdle is crossed, the meals are one of the best relishing components of stay.

The next hurdle to be crossed is the extension and this followed by places I should visit for a duration of three to four days in between so as to enable me to return to the old place to ensure an elaborate stay in the spiritual hotspot. Amidst this churns and turns the nagging issue has been and quite noticeable is the inappropriate nature of the hotelwallahs whenever I have taken a room. It is essentially to do with the havoc they unleash. The floor above the room I stay is hit hard for long durations. The thumping of the floor above my room for long hours has become a recurring habit and be it day or in the middle of night the thumping is their birthright. The saving grace being i leave the hotel room between 1 and 3 in the morning so whatever intentional disturbance they wish to create the hours at their disposal are limited. Here I need to be aloof to the proceedings and try to see this unsettled terrain as something unavoidable. This time as well, this happened with me repeatedly in A’gar, Trimabakeshwar and again in A’gar. This at least assured me that trouble mongers are in the nearby areas of the accommodation point and here I need to keep my cool come what may.
As for the exorbitant hotel rates the fleecing is rampant, given the simple accommodations I get in. The rates are too high to be entertained is precisely because of the vast sums furnished by the tribe which doesn’t give a damn to the tariffs and how this would keep them aloof from ever doing a reality check of comprehensively hurting the prospects of those who wish to procrastinate their departure. Burning cash for short stay of few hours is their preferred mantra.
As for those looking for stay beyond fortnight or a month they should be prepared to face a grind of a different nature. A grind that is least appreciable. Hope things turn for better and hotelwallahs stop taking recourse to tactics of thumping the floor of the room above you just for the sake of fun for which they have assured vast sums. Hope things get better in the ensuing period.