Gated community in Chennai celebrates 25 years of community living

Early residents of Aashiana Flats throw light on its guiding principles

Cleanliness and friendliness came up as primary goals for residents of Aashiana Flats when the community launched its owners’ association 25 years ago.

Besides meeting those two goals, the 175-unit community at Venus Colony in Alwarpet has set various benchmarks in community living.

Renowned theatre actor and voice artiste PC Ramakrishna, the first president of the owners’ association, attributes community’s growth to two factors – ground rules laid down in the early years and the role played by women.

In 1997, the gated community had a dozen families and it was perhaps easy to set the rules. “We set down the basic ground rules about cleanliness and friendliness. To make decisions among 12 was easy, so some basic practices were established in the early years itself and they got refined over the years by new committee members,” says Ramakrishna. Those who moved in over the years — which includes some employees of Small Industries Development Bank of India and Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India — continue to follow these rules.

He cites the example of the one-way movement of vehicles introduced by the committee that was rigorously followed by residents.

Ramakrishna strongly believes that a happy colony is one where women and children feel safe and their priorities are taken into consideration.

Spaces were created for women and children to bond over music, art, culture and other activities. Amenities like a badminton court and a community hall were added attractions.