Indians Believe In Loving Their Neighbours. Do Not Let This Love Rob Your Privacy In Your Home

Nosy neighbours are annoying. But, in India, home owners have no legal recourse against their neighbours even if they violate norms of common decency. In any case, most people prefer not to enter a legal battle with their neighbours.

Here are a few ways to lead a private life amidst nosy neighbours:

1. Tinted windows: If you have a neighbour who knows everything about you, from the TV shows you watch to the night clothes you wear, a bit of caution is in order. Start by covering the largest and longest windows in your home. If you prefer sun light, it is ridiculous to make yourself miserable by closing your windows, running up a huge electricity bill. Make your windows tinted.

2. Privacy screens: There are excellent privacy screens, designed specifically  for apartments. It is more difficult to maintain privacy in residential projects or similar settings where many apartments have their windows facing each other. But, if you do not prefer tinted windows, you can redesign your home with nice-looking privacy screens that shield their home, ensuring that you receive proper sunlight.

Some people prefer screens that can be shut by pulling a string. They are designed for use at a specific time. If you see your neighbour peeping in, pull down the screen. You can maintain privacy while ensuring that your home is property ventilated. Ideally, privacy screens are used in bedrooms.

3. Trees and plants: If you live in an independent home, there are few things that shield you from your neighbours more than trees and plants. A large tree can shield the windows on the ground floor as well as the ones on the first floor. If you live in apartments, you may plant fast-growing shrubs on the balcony or in pots. They function as a healthy green cover. Well-grown leaves can also bruise peeping toms.

4. Fences: You are opening yourself up for scrutiny if your home does not have  a fence. Though many people do not prefer fences, this is neither secure nor conducive to privacy. You can build a taller fence around the swimming pool. Most people prefer walls and fences that are around four to five feet tall. This is a good way to demarcate boundaries. But you can still conversing with your neighbours over the fence.

Remember: Good fences make good neighbours.

(Katya Naidu has been working as a business journalist for the last nine years, and has covered beats across banking, pharma, healthcare, telecom, technology, power, infrastructure, shipping and commodities)