The first ray of sunlight awakens up the birds, and ushers in a brand new day. The weather is cool, much cooler than the highway I have just left behind. And the trees — mango, jamun, raspberry and chikoo — create a cocooned, delectable nest, cutting out every trace of city life. In short, bliss. Welcome to Aram Nagar, 2013. Spread across 16 acres with 357 row houses, this township bustles with activity — be it elderly women hanging clothes on the line, pumping water from the borewell pump, or the priest ringing the first bell at the Ganesh temple. Side by side there are giant buildings housing ad agencies, television production houses, gyms and even furniture stores. Amid cycles and rickety Fiats that have not been used in years, fancy cars too dot the area. Today and yesterday live in harmony here, almost.

Hariharan is one of the oldest residents of Aram Nagar