Tag: marathahalli

CRAFT FAIR

Dastkar 2012, Bangalore: Oogway Comes Home

It was past 6 p.m. on Saturday evening. After a long day, while we were returning home, my husband casually said, “oh, I forgot to tell you, Dastkar is happening at Ezone this year.” I was like, “what, serious?” And then, it came back in a flash. A friend had texted me that morning about a craft mela happening at a venue which is literally a stone’s throw away from home. It was enough to get me a on a high for the weekend and the tiredness of the day vanished in thin air.

Datskar, nature bazaar, happens every year around this time of the year at Palace Grounds. Dastkar and Kala Madhyam are the two events I look forward to every year but I’d somehow missed the announcement this year. Here’s a brief take on Dastkar 2012 after two visits and still eager for more.

What I liked:

The sights, the colors, the excitement of the kids to try the potter’s wheel, ladies undecided over fancy beaded jewelery, colorful birdies, kites, and a bit of every state served on a huge platter called Dastkar.

The path leading to the venue is decked up in ribbons of all colors and patterns. Nothing matches the vibrancy of a art and craft exhibition. Dastkar is the mother of all such exhibitions so the excitement doubles up. Phew! Honestly, it’s overwhelming. But, for art aficionados like me, this is as good as it gets.

Yea..most men don’t come there by choice, but by force accompanying the ladies..sorry guys. But, could see the desperation on many of your faces to get out and the huge sigh of relief as you walked past the exit. I overheard one gentleman saying at the entrance even before entering, “ah dekh liya..ab bas yahin se chalen.” It can get exhausting and you need at least an hour to get a feel of it.

Many stalls from last year were missing this time. I spoke to quite a few artisans and felt sad for them as the venue perhaps played spoil sport. They were not getting as good a footfall as Palace Grounds does.

REAL ESTATE

Apartment Hunt: Renaissance, Krishvi, Goel Ganga, DSR

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In this concluding part on the Apartment Hunt series, let’s take a look at some new completed and just-launched properties from a two-tier builders.

Renaissance Rainbow – Brookefields

Renaissance Rainbow is located opposite to the Gopalan property and adjacent to Knightsbridge apartments on the Brookefields main road. Renaissance builders have to their credit completed a dozen residential projects in Bangalore since 1998. Rainbow has a good floor plan. The attraction of the 3 BHK apartment I saw was its huge french window, a spacious balcony, and full-length windows in the master and kids bedroom that overlook the Knightsbridge property. The huge windows bring in a lot of light and air into the apartment resulting in a overall good feeling. With a thoughtfully placed utility accessible from the kitchen, it’s reasonably priced at Rs. 55 L.

The only downside was the amenities are far from done and there is little space for kids to play around as the car park is at ground level. The land comprising the entrance to the property is not owned by the builder. He seems to have an agreement with the other owner for the only access to Rainbow. People have already moved in but there are a few apartments (the landowners share) that are up for sale.

Renaissance Jagriti – Varthur/Old Airport/Whitefield

Jagriti was executed in two phases by Renaissance. Though the website says the apartment was completed in 2009, work is still going on. As I remember, the common amenities were not yet done. Phase 1 has a good occupancy level. I happened to look at a penthouse in phase I with interiors done but never lived in. It was tough to get a sense of how you would live in the duplex house. It appeared as if the architect was playing a jigsaw puzzle trying to fit in the rooms, kitchen, and living area together in the best possible way. A huge open terrace and a master bedroom the size of half a football field just added to the drama.

I came back impressed only with the skylight in the bathroom and above the stairs leading up to the first floor level. In Rs.77 Lakhs for a 2000+ sq. ft space, it’s worth a miss.This apartment, in fact, is a good example of how not to get swayed by model apartments.

DSR Elite – off Outer Ring Road

REAL ESTATE

Apartment Hunt: UKN Esperanza, Bangalore

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Weekend is here. Yay! What are your plans? We have a few site visits lined up for Sunday.

Since March, we’ve clocked hundreds of miles, numerous nights on the laptop browsing through craigslist, Saturday mornings on the phone with brokers/builders and several hours on the road in our search to find the perfect apartment. A second home. As with any home buyer, three criterion have always stayed on top of the list: location, price, and plan, in no particular order. And, if we have rejected a project, it’s primarily because we couldn’t compromise on one of these. Our hunt has taken us as far as Anekal in South-east to Dodaballapur in North-west.

This series on Apartment Hunting is a slight deviation from the concept of this blog, which is interiors and dressing up one’s apartment or house. But, you know what, the marketing managers of every project we’ve visited till date have been super busy. With an overwhelming number of prospective buyers crowding the market, I believe there is a renewed interest in investing in a property. So, I feel, you as my readers, may benefit if you are planning to buy an apartment. I will list out all the new/resale apartments in this three part series that we’ve seen in no particular order.

A caveat before I dig deeper: I’m not a broker, not associated with any builder, and neither do I get any commission for this free advertising. If you have any queries regarding a project, please contact the builder/broker.

All the apartments are located in Bangalore East between Marathahalli and Whitefield. They are 3-BHKs priced between 55 Lakhs and 80 Lakhs. Come, join me on this virtual apartment hunt!

Let’s begin with Esperenza by UKN.

All the apartments have been sold by the builder. However, there are a few which are not yet registered and are available as is (without any interiors or wood work done). The downside is there is little scope for structural modifications now. The row house project is currently going on.

We did not see the model apartment, so it was easy to judge. Model apartments make the decision tough as the interiors hide the otherwise obvious flaw in a plan. It’s difficult to visualise your stuff in a done-up apartment. When you’ve purchased one, it’s a different story, as model apartments can give you ideas.