Noida is actually the acronym for New Okhla Industrial Development Authority set up in the late 80?s by the Government to ease the congestion on Delhi .Along with Gurgaon, Ghaziabad and Faridabad, noida makes up the NCR or the National Capital Region. My experience with Noida is in two ways. Way back in 1995, when I was working in New Delhi as a sales engineer, I used to make periodic visits out here for work. It seemed like any other industrial area out to me, smoky factories, slums, pollution. Didn?t find much of residential areas out here.
But now I am working in HCL Perot Systems( its actually Perot Systems now, HCL is no longer in the picture) at Greater Noida, so I have taken up residence in Noida, Sector 62 and have a better picture of Noida than before. The place where I stay is just at the boundary that separates Noida from Ghaziabad. So how do I find life in NOIDA, well guess many things come into picture out here, so just felt like sharing some of my views.
Noida is much cheaper than Delhi or Gurgaon. I have been able to get a nice 2 bedroom flat out here, for Rs5500(of course maintenance is separate) in a good locality. This I think is quite a reasonable price, and I wouldn?t crib about the Rs 1000 per month I pay as maintenance, since we have about 24/7 power supply and drinking water. So for a total amount of Rs6500, we are able to get real good accommodation out here, which I don?t think would be the case for Delhi or Gurgaon. Coming to day to day living, its quite reasonable again.
For people staying with families out here, you need to do a bit of good budgeting out here, to manage your income and expenditure. Availability of essentials is not a problem here again, as you have a number of Mother Dairy outlets for milk and vegetables, plus you have the usual street side shops selling everything. Power and water are however erratic and so better look for an apartment complex with 24 hours power and water supply. Almost every item you need is available in Noida, and you don?t really feel the necessity of going to Delhi for shopping. But I advise you to check out the village fairs, which are conducted daily at different sectors. You get real good bargains on dresses there.
Career wise, NOIDA, has a number of good options. You have IT giants like Perot Systems, HCL Technologies, TCS, Adobe etc setting up shop here. You also do have a number of good call centers like VXL, HCL BPO out here. There are quite a large number of small and medium scale industrial units out here, which employ a large number of people. The place also has many good schools out here. Amity, DPS, KV, Army Public School. Also you have a couple of good technical colleges like Jaypee Instiute, Amity etc. Sector 16 contains Filmcity, which boasts of Eagle Studios and is quite a happy hunting ground for Ekta?s K-Serials which are generally shot here.
Keeping with the image of Delhi, Noida boasts of an equally cosmopolitan atmosphere. Apart from Punjabis and Bhaiyyas of UP-Bihar, we have lots of people from other parts of India also. Tamil, Telugu, Gujjus, Marathis, Bongs you can find them all out here. Its not uncommon to see a large number of vehicles out here, with name plates of different states.
For the sporting inclined, you have the Noida golf course and the Noida stadium. Noida is also breaking out of it?s industrial image with a number of art exhibitions, seminars, concerts taking place. There are quite a number of good parks out here, but the place seriously needs a green lung, something like the Gateway of India lawns in Delhi.
If we need to spend a nice weekend, we have to go all the way to Delhi. As far as entertainment and hanging out is concerned, Sector 18 is the place to be in. It contains the WAVE mall, which is a huge multiplex cum shopping mall. However most of the goods on display are frightfully expensive and people come here only to hang out and window shop. Sector 18 again has a number of good eateries.
You have the Big Mac, and Delhi?s own version of Mac, Nirulas. If you are a caffeine addict, you could head for Café Coffee Day , Barrista?s. For lovers of Chinese, the best ones are Fortune Cookies and Wok?s express. If you miss your sarson ka sag and tandoori rot, head for Punjabi by Nature, its got a lovely atmosphere. And of course for pizzaophiles like me the trio of Pizza Corner, Dominoes and Pizza Hut is always there.
Check out the kathi rolls which are cooked at the street corners. The rolls here are crisp and great. Many retail giants like Sab Mall, Giant, Ebony, Westside have set up shop here. And you have all the textile biggies like Peter England, Allen Solly, Park Avenue out here. If you don?t have the money to splurge, head straight to Atta Market, where with a bit of a good bargaining you could get some real good dresses and stuff you like. You have all the good book shops like Teksons, Crosswords etc, but I prefer to browse the pavement book shops, I get real good books at real good prices out there.
Sector- 18 though the most happening place in NOIDA, due to its eateries and malls, suffers because of that very same reason. Its become very crowded nowadays and getting in is a nightmare especially on weekends, when the entire population of Noida is found there. Traffic management is bad, and traffic snarls are very common out there. If you do manage to get into Sec 18 on weekends, you again have to spend an hour looking for a place to park your vehicle. You really do feel like Abhimanyu in the Chakravuyh there. Also while most of the main roads in NOIDA are good enough, the roads in some of the Sectors are really pathetic. Noida has developed tremendously, over the past years, but the same cannot be said of the infrastructure which is still stuck in a time warp.
Traffic discipline is quite an oxymoron out here in Noida, and you have to depend on the almighty to get home safely. I myself had two close brushes, and its not uncommon to see accidents daily. Some of the roads look like they have been bombed out, with so many potholes on them. Driving also involves having to make do with the king of the roads, the cattle, who stand there, nonchalantly and you cannot dodge past them, since you do not know if some vehicle is coming from back. Also Noida doesn?t have a proper public transport system and you have to depend on the auto and rickshaw walla to take you to your place, and these guys can charge you a fortune if your new.
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