The 'height' of prejudice

You've heard of racism, sexism and ageism. Now there's something called heightism

For me, staying in a hostel for the last three years has been great fun. The hostel has been like a second home. But slowly the time is coming for me to move out of the hostel, as I have now started working.

I used to pity my friends when I saw them calling up brokers and running around in search of a PG accommodation. I considered myself lucky that I didn't need to go through such pains and effort looking for a place to stay. But then, I guess, my luck has worn out and it is now my turn to do the same.

Staying in South Mumbai has made me a complete 'townie'. I am in love with that part of the city, and hence when I called up the broker, I specified 'South Mumbai' as the preferred location. Thus began my hunt for a PG accommodation.

The broker showed me couple of house in and around South Mumbai. One apartment - which I went to visit with my dad - was in a 'posh' area of Kemps Corner.

To reach the apartment one had to climb a dingy staircase covered in dust. The reason? An old lift, which had a board outside saying "out of service. Sorry for the inconvenience". Finally, walking up four floors, we reached the apartment. Walking through the old building and climbing up those stairs depressed me. I prayed that the room made up for the trek.

The landlords were a sweet old couple. Looking at them brought a smile to my face. At least something was worth climbing those stairs. There were two small, cramped rooms - with four girls to a room - and the only source of fresh air was one window. The landlord proudly showed us the closets saying, "We provide the girls with cupboards so that they can keep their belonging in it".

To make things worse, he further added, "We don't provide food. The girls have to make their own arrangements. There is only one bathroom shared by eight girls. They have to do their own washing."

The only thought that ran through my head was: "What? Seven thousand Rupees for this rat hole!" I just wanted to leave as soon as possible.  I think my dad read my mind and we quickly fled, glad to be out in the open once again. If this was what PG hunting was all about, then I certainly wasn't up for it.

I then thought of contacting my cousin who stayed with this old Maharashtrian lady as a PG in Bandra. Well, Bandra could be my new home, I thought. So, I called up cousin and asked her to give me the landlady's number.

The catch, however, was that she had hiked the rent up to Rs10,000 - Rs3,000 more than what my cousin paid. That really hurt! The landlady and I communicated over the phone, but I did create a mental image of her with a little help from my cousin. I was still waiting for the landlady to get back to me, when I received a call from my cousin saying, "She said no!"

When I asked her the reason behind her rejection, I got a bizarre reply. It seems I was too tall. For a minute, I was speechless.

"But she hasn't even seen me," I said. "All we have done is spoke on the phone. She doesn't even know if I am tall or not."

I found out later that she had called up my cousin and asked her how tall I was. She apparently was not interested in tall people as they generate a lot of attention. People, she said, tend to notice tall people.

Discrimination on the basis of height was a new one for me. All my not-so-tall friends were really happy to hear that. They all screamed: "Shorties rule!"

I haven't been PG hunting since.
h_namita@dnaindia.net