We find them everywhere in all the major cities and towns of our country. Young men and women who leave their family homes and move to other cities for the pursuit of education or professional careers. Since they do not have near and dear ones in that area, many of them opt to live in private homes, almost like family members, but paying for their boarding and lodging. This arrangement is much more convenient and economical  as compared to living in a mess or hostel, where the homely comforts are certainly lacking.

During the last decade or so, taking on paying guests has become a  flourishing nay roaring business, requiring very little by  way of investment. The major players in this arena are mostly elderly men and women, and matronly ladies (whose grown up children are settled elsewhere. Or alternatively issueless couples) whose homes have ample spaces which they are unable to utilise. 

Puttingit simply, a paying guest makes use  ofthese rooms, shares meals with the family members, usesthe owner's bath and privy. He/she makes use of the basicfacilities available e.g. power connection, water

supplytelephone, television etc. But discipline also comes asa part of the package deal. For instance he/she must beindoors by a stipulated hour, must not leave the lightson for the whole night, must not make noise, must notsmoke or drink without the owner's permission and so forth.  

Howeverthere are certain drawbacks, in this system of takingin paying  guests. It is not roses, roses allthe way. To begin with, many a landlord charges the paying guests exorbitantly, so that the young peoplealmost pay through their noses.

Pinki Gupta, who lives as a paying guest in south Delhi,narrates how college girls with limited funds are oftenherded into one room, with hardly any storage space fortheir stuff. There is virtual cacophony everyday in suchrooms with blaring music, nonstop conversation, shrillcries etc." It is impossible to study in such circumstances,"laments an inmate of one such establishment.

"Forgetabout the homely atmosphere and comforts, my landladycharges me an extra 750/- for daily supply of milk (2glasses only! ) and hot water for bathing", revealsSujata Das, who lives as a paying guest in the capital.

Insome cases, the house owners deny their lodgers the usebasic appliances like electric iron, immersion rods, musicsystems and transistors. At the peak of summer, the payingguests often have to make do with rickety ceiling fansor at best room coolers, for which they again have topay an extra amount. Dusting and cleaning of the roomshave to be done by the residents themselves, as maidsare often not allowed in.

Oftenthe house owners compromise on the quality as well asthe variety of meals. Accordingly non vegetarians mightbe forced to eat only  vegetarian food, just becausethe owners do not consume fish, flesh and fowl.

That is not all. Suchitra Pal, who lived as a paying guest in Mumbai for a considerable length of time says," I had a harrowing experience; the landlords were nice people, but a nephew of theirs who was a frequent visitor to the house, bugged me no end. He would stare at me whenever I was within his range of vision. He would

Asimilar anecdote is narrated by Rashmi Singh, who losta lot of personal belongings while staying as a payingguest in South Kolkata. She laments, " I lost somebeautiful pieces of jewellery , silk scarves, expensivepens, a lovely silk kafatan, woolen tops and ofcourse plenty of cash. I did  lock up  the drawers and cupboards in  my room. I wish the owners had taken a little personal care.  It could havebeen one of  the domestic servants, the cook, thecasual visitors to the house..........."

Theyoung people complain of how the landlords/ladies ofteninterfere  in their  private lives. Anita Guptawho hails from Indore, says her landlords discourage allvisitors, irrespective of their sex. So much so that whenher grandmother  came to the city from their hometown,she had to be put up elsewhere. Her colleague and roommate Caroline Saritha hates the way the landlady haranguesher about  not wearing dupattas/ chunnis,even though she wears fairly loose salwar kameezes/churidars.Mukul Kumar got into trouble with his landlords, owingto his habit of using excessive perfumes, which apparentlybothered them a good deal.

Telephonefacilities often prove to be a b`ete-noir for thepaying guests.Though legally telephoning facilities areto be made available to the lodgers, very often the houseowners deny access to even incoming local calls, not tospeak of outstation/long distance ones. Making phone callsfrom the house is mostly ruled out.Sometimes messagesare not delivered and sometines garbled. This makes lifehard for paying guests,especially women,who would hesitateto venture out at late hours to make personal calls.

Sincethe system of paying  guests may well be termed as a necessary evil,  the young people could do wellto take certain measures in order to overcome the problemsthat crop up:  

Checkout the antecedents and  the general back groundof the house owners. It would be advisable to put up withfamilies already known to you, for then they will tendto be a trifle liberal.

Whenyou enter a written agreement with the house owners make sure you have a couple of  witnesses. They will comein useful in case of a future conflict.

Besure to get the agreement/rules and regulations documentedso as to avoid  complications.

Keepyour valuables,  precious possessions in the banklockers rather than keeping them at home.

Rememberto lock your room before going out. Use your own lockand key instead of a lock with duplicate keys, one of which is inevitably retained by the landlords.    

Bepolite and civil with your landlords but do not get  too familiar. As the saying goes:  Familiarity breeds contempt

Ifthe landlord's visitors or guests happen to bother you,sort out the matter by confronting the offender, insteadof merely keeping quiet.

Rightin the beginning make your intentions and demands clearto the landlord. Put your foot down firmly regarding visits by  family members and friends, your dresscode, daily habits etc. In case these  are not acceptable,you could look for accommodation elsewhere.   

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