GOODBYE, BIG CITY

The desire for a simpler, cleaner, stress-free life is driving people to invest in second homes far from the metros’s madding crowds

- Sonali Acharjee

A few weeks after the Covid-induced lockdown was announced in March 2020, Soumya Sharma, 27, and her family of five decided to spend a few days at their spacious farmhouse in Karjat, located barely 65 km from Mumbai. That plan of ‘few days’ kept getting extended until the family realised that they were happier living on the farm rather than in the city. However, Sharma’s job as a news analyst needed her to go ‘on air’ from home and the farmhouse didn’t have good internet connectivity. But a good wi-fi connection fixed this small hurdle and the young couple started working from their farmhouse. “We started enjoying this life. There’s a river running across our property and it was lovely to walk around and soak in the clean, crisp air after work, something we don’t get in Mumbai,” says Sharma.

Now, the family goes to the local supermarket every few days to stock up on provisions and make a trip to Mumbai usually once a week for work. “But we have shifted our base to Karjat. From being our second home, the farmhouse has become our first home,” says Sharma, adding that the family doesn’t feel like it’s missing out on anything. “Mumbai is highly overrated. Here, we can cook and eat together and spend a lot of quality time with each other as a family,” she says. The shift “back to the basics” has been refreshing. “Covid has made us realise that it is the small things that give us a lot more happiness,” she says.