The global dictionary of slangs may disregard the ‘F’
word as a taboo but when it comes to the employees of GSFC (Gujarat State
Fertilizers and Chemicals) Baroda, they have a completely different approach to
look at the letter ‘F’. For them, ‘F’ means Fertilizer, that Fertilizer which
earns them their daily bread. So deep is their respect for their product that
they christened their company’s residential quarters as Fertilizer Nagar. Lovingly called as F'Nagar.
Invited by the newlywed Mr. and Mrs. Roy (Mrs. Roy being an
employee of this organization) to their new haven, I got an opportunity to
visit this place and who had thought that one visit and I would fall in love
with this place.
Located in the outskirts of Baroda, F’Nagar is situated
at a distance which is about thirty minutes drive from the Baroda railway
station. If you are a resident of this F’Nagar then conveyance is not a problem
since the company offers a bus service which runs to and fro between the colony
and the main city umpteen times on any given day. And a single journey costs
you less than a rupee (Yes, this price is valid even if you are in the year
2013!).
Though located near to the fertilizer company, the atmosphere
here is not at all hampered by the acrimonious smell of chemicals which usually
surrounds such areas rather, the moment you enter the massive gate of the F’Nagar,
you are welcomed by lush green gardens. All those trees and flowers which you
must have learnt in your Botany class are available here and are definitely
adding to the beauty of the place.
The employees are allotted with quarters on the basis of
their cadres. As one moves up the career ladder, company ensures that one also
moves to a bigger and a better home (and why shouldn’t be, after all it’s the
law of nature). These houses are generally two storied and the construction is
rock solid. Unlike cities like Mumbai and Kolkata, space here is not a problem
and thus the quarters are built at a certain distance and follow certain
symmetry.
When kids in Metro cities are acquainted with only two
birds viz. the sparrow and the crow, kids at F’Nagar are privileged to see our
National Bird Peacock dancing at their door steps.
Amenities like school and supermarket are inside the
Nagar. Beauty Parlor is also available for the beauty conscious female
residents. All daily needs being available in the vicinity of the quarters,
people here seldom need to get out of the complex.
With long stretches of jogging tracks, a well equipped
gymnasium, tennis and badminton courts around, this is actually a heaven for
fitness freaks. If you feel that these facilities are common today even in the
residential complexes built in confined spaces of cities then think again,
because F’Nagar is also blessed with a Golf course and as if that was not
enough, the place also flaunts a Cricket ground where state level cricket
matches are played.
But as they say no place is hundred percent ideal and F’Nagar
too is not an exception. Though very less, this Nagar too has its own
drawbacks. It is very common for one to find snakes in the locality. Houses being
built at a distance, there is a large space of no man’s land between each type
of quarters. Though the Nagar offers you with various sports facilities but if
you are not keen sportsman then sorry you will soon find boredom gripping you.
As it usually happens in company paid accommodations,
people here are no alien to wasting resources like electricity and water. Tube lights
and fans serve 24 x 7 no matter even if there is nobody to get served. Same is
with water, house maids are seen washing the clothes or doing the dishes under
continuous flow of water. People are to be blamed for such deeds but as one
spends a lot of time at such “free” atmosphere, one unknowingly tends to
develop such “waste” habits and all of us very well know that old habits die
hard.
But these drawbacks are actually nothing when compared to
the benefits and picturesque beauty which the Nagar offers. After all there is
no better a pleasure than sitting in a verandah, sipping a hot cup of coffee with
a novel in your hand, of course your loved one sitting on a chair next to you
and a peacock dancing in front of your eyes.
Oh God, it’s actually Heaven!
(And yes, completely mesmerized by the serene beauty of
the place, I am eagerly waiting for the next invitation from the Roys!)
