Mansions always conjure an image of bachelors living in unhealthy surroundings. A common toilet, a small room which accommodates people more than its capacity, the stories of poverty leading to the inability to pay the rent etc etc! If all these sound cliched, then one cannot help but accept that this is the reality of most mansions in Chennai. Triplicane is the place which houses more than 100 mansions. There are mansions almost every second building.

Moving into Chennai with dreams of making it big in the film industry or trying to seek a job, mansions proven as a cheap haven for the homeless bachelors! With BPO sectors and marketing jobs in abundance all what he wants is a small place to store his luggage and rest at night, for luxury comes with a huge cost. Many movies have portrayed the life in the mansions so well. Recently released movie Arai Yen 305yil Kadavul can be appreciated for depicting a mansion life in its true essence. Starting from the queue in front of the toilets to the inability of the lead actors to pay the rent!

Though this scenario is slowly changing, what remain without changing are the mansions of Triplicane. Bachelor accommodations are provided by most employers these days. But all that's for the white collar jobs. The profile of the person living in a mansion is definitely a non Chennaites who steps into the city to create an identity for him. A mansion stay can be a transit stay; once a foothold is achieved there is always an option to move on.

Today there are also many classes of mansion accommodation one can opt for... A mansion is more convenient than a house because it works out much cheaper. The hassle of finding a house is much higher. Since there are more than 100 mansions, the restaurants and food joints in the area vie with each other to get a market share. And what's more Mansions don't pose heavy restriction on the rent payers unlike the house owners boggling the bachelors every now and then for various reasons.

SOWJANYA.S