When the Mirror Cracks: Reflections from a Redevelopment Journey

I’ve lived in our co-operative housing society for over 50 years. It’s a well-educated, cultured community of successful career executives and professionals. Our colony enjoys a prime location, right by the sea, with an unobstructed view of the iconic Bandra-Worli Sea Link. This place is more than home — it’s where friendships were born in schoolyards, where holidays were spent together, where our children grew up alongside our friends’ children and became close in their own right. It was a community that felt like family.

That’s why what’s unfolding now feels so disorienting.

With such strong roots, one would imagine the foundation of our community to be unshakable. And yet, ever since the topic of redevelopment surfaced, something has shifted — and not for the better.

Conversations have become colder. Familiar smiles feel forced or absent. Friends who once dropped by without notice now avoid eye contact. The very idea of redevelopment, which should ideally be a collective journey toward a better future, has created tension and division.

There’s politics where there used to be purpose. With allegations and counter allegations flying, the focus has shifted on derailing the process through confusion rather than engaging through reason. Meetings meant for dialogue now feel like battlegrounds. Long-time neighbours are left wondering: how did we get here?

The irony is, redevelopment hasn’t even begun. We’re still at the doorstep. And already, the cracks are showing — not in the buildings, but in the bonds we spent decades building.

The unsettling part is — this is just the beginning. The actual redevelopment process hasn’t even started, and yet the fractures within our community are already visible. One can’t help but wonder: if this is how it starts, where does it go from here? On a lighter note, from what has transpired so far, this seems to have all the classical trappings of a reality show in the making..

This blog is just a conversation starter, if you are going through something similar or have successfully survived similar phases…would love to hear about your experiences in the comments. Cheers!!

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