It happens only in Gurgaon

Phrases like 'OMG! This is so typical of Gurgaon!', 'I have only experienced this in Gurgaon', are something we get to hear on a regular basis from celebs, the city's denizens and various other people who are associated with the city's administration or come to the city to earn their living daily. At various points in our interactions with people from different walks of life, we have got to know the special and specific features of the Millennium City.We decided to list the things that only happen in this city and make it unique.
Because of the Gurgaon audience's refined tastes and hassle-free venues, stand-up comedians prefer to organize gigs here. While earlier, South Delhi was the place where most of these gigs would happen, now, the Millennium City has overthrown it as the preferred venue for comedy gigs.
Stand up comics say that for comedy gigs, the corporate crowd is the perfect audience as it turns up for weeknight shows and they understand the nuances of every joke that the comedians crack. Stand up comedian Maheep Singh told us, "Initially, these events used to happen in and around South Delhi, and even there, we used to have people coming in from Gurgaon. So, when we decided to host events here, these regulars brought in a lot of people from their social circles, who, till now, avoided coming to these gigs because of the commute. Comedy events usually happen on weeknights, and in Gurgaon, we don't have to be worried about a pub going empty just because it's a weeknight. The lifestyle here is such that people will stop for a beer or catch up at any nearby brewery after work before they head home."
Another standup comedian, Nishant Joke Singh, said, "A lot of our venues are within Cyber City, on the ground floors of office buildings. So, people leaving office will stop by when they see a board outside saying 'Stand-up night today'. People are looking for a change, a break on weekdays too. In Delhi, weekday gigs aren't very successful."
Traffic issues and waterlogging
While Gurgaon might pride itself in being a world class city with all facilities and an international culture, on social media, it's also viewed as the city with the worst traffic and is called a river of sorrow during rains. Bad roads, frequent jams and inevitable flooding during monsoon have earned Gurgaon this dubious reputation. During a recent spell of heavy showers, Suhel Seth had tweeted with several pictures, 'World class river in a third class city! Gurgaon. River of Sorrow'. In an earlier tweet, he said, 'Gurgaon is supposed to be a modern city. Mohenjodaro seems better organised. Bloody shame what this builder-Government nexus has done'. On a normal day, tweeples are busy tweeting about the various jams at various points in the city and a quick online search would yield numerous pictures of traffic jams in the city.
Mommys' paradise
From fancy daycare options to Facebook groups that solve all queries and a variety of options to become a mumpreneur, Gurgaon has evolved into a city where everything a mom needs is a stone's throw away. Vidya Raja, who is one of the co-admins of Gurgaon Moms, an informal group connecting women all across the city, recently told us, "We still get so many requests per day and we vet every member who joins. We also have small sub-groups according to the kids' age groups, cultural backgrounds and talents and interests. The questions may vary from something as simple as a clothing store for kids to bigger advice-worthy issues or simply a discussion on the news of the day. So every mom has many others who've been through the same problems as they have and are willing to provide genuine feedback."
Be it stand-up comedians or actors who have performed in the city, everyone has always had a positive word about Gurgaon's well-behaved audience. Recently, actress Natasha Singh was here for a play titled Four Play and told us, "Not a single phone rang while we were performing and the audience was outstanding." This wasn't the first time that someone had appreciated the theatre audience. Earlier, Roshan Abbas had said, "Often, we talk about how the audience needs to be educated about theatre etiquette and we've all had incidents where someone's phone starts buzzing or something. But nothing of that sort happened here. The only disturbance was when a guard's walkie-talkie buzzed and that man was also so embarrassed that he quickly moved out."
Not only do the audience members always remember to put their phones on silent mode, they also reach the venue on time. Veteran actor Tom Alter had said, "Today's audience was especially good. I was very happy that people were here on time. Usually, in clubs, people don't come on time. If it's a 7o'clock show, people don't come before 8.30pm. Mujhe laga ki 8 baje se pehle bulaava nahi aayega. But we were surprised to see people turn up at 7pm sharp. It's a good thing when we respect the audience and the audience respects us back."
From being another city on the periphery of Delhi to becoming the corporate hub, Gurgaon has managed to establish its identity among cities like Noida and Faridabad. This development has also coincided with the city becoming home to some popular nightlife joints that are located near offices so that the 9-5 working crowd can let their hair down after a stressful day at work. People who own nightlife joints in the city have told us that partygoers in Gurgaon just want to unwind after a hectic day at work and they aren't here to party hard. When Raasta was going to open one of its outlets here, Joy Singh, owner, had told us, "Initially, Gurgaon was just one of the border places like Noida, Faridabad, etc, each with its own set of problems. Slowly, the corporates started moving in and Gurgaon became known only for two things – the offices, and the pubs around the offices. It gradually developed this party-place image. So, even though now the deadlines and policies are as strict as in Delhi, Gurgaon's party image has managed to grow over time. This is the only place to have so many microbreweries. A Gurgaon-based person may or may not go to Delhi, but a Delhi-based person will definitely come to a Gurgaon pub, which makes the Gurgaon location self-sufficient. So, it was very important for us to reach out to this Gurgaon customer who is used to a different kind of atmosphere and who is appreciative of the kind of place we have on offer. It's a culture that supports a new establishment, and with higher disposable incomes of the people here, we know it's going to be a successful venture."