Centuries-old traditions in Agghapur village here are now intermingling with an urban lifestyle, with a bunch of young entrepreneurs setting up shop in the area.
The Gurjar-dominated village in Sector 41 here has a sizeable Scheduled Caste community as well, which has led to segregated housing. But, attitudes seem to be changing in the 100-year-old village as urbanisation is chipping away at age-old beliefs.
Both Theos, a patisserie and café, and Glued, a gaming lounge, employ villagers in their back-room and security staff. The head of Glued’s security, Neeraj Kumar, comes from a local family that has lived in the village for generations.
Most of 1,500 residents of the village are from the prosperous Gurjar community, rearing cows for milk. A large number of young people have now started working in government jobs or are running small shops around Noida.
“After 1976, our land got acquired and Noida started developing. We are happy that now our village is also progressing,” says Mr. Kumar.
Using the compensation for their land, villagers have started to construct one-room units with shared toilets for the large migrant population in Noida. A domestic worker, Gita, has lived in the village for three years.
“The rent goes up every year, but we are still able to pay it as it is Rs. 1,200. But, now landlords have started making expensive rooms that go for as much as Rs. 7,000,” she says.
Urbanisation, for migrants like Gita, could lead to them getting priced out. While the wealthy landlords are happy about new businesses in the area, their existing tenants are cautiously optimistic.
Another villager, Indraj Singh, runs a small tea stall outside Theos. “I don’t know how long my family has been here, could be a 100 years or a 1,000. Governments come and go, but no one thinks of us poor people,” he says.
For Indraj Singh, development doesn’t depend on what happens in Lucknow or Delhi, but in the number of cupcakes Theos can sell. “If these shops do well and more such businesses open in our village, things will definitely look up for us,” he says.
