Barring the (un)romantic aspect, life for most paying guests in town is fairly comfortable. And with a number of facilities being provided by most house owners— roti, kapda (laundry, though at extra charges ) aur makan—the arrangement suits most of the youth who come here from small towns of Punjab, Haryana and even places as far off as Ladakh and Jharkhand for studies or to take up jobs.

Many paying guests are also junior doctors, staff nurses or bachelors working as executives in the commercial hub of Sectors 34 and 35. Consequently, most of the paying guest accommodation is concentrated either in the southern Sectors 32, 44 or 46—which are close to Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), S.D.College and other colleges—or the northern Sectors 15, 11 and 10, that are close to the PGI, Panjab University and its affiliated colleges.

These people prefer to become PGs than rent out rooms since it saves them a lot of bother. And the lucky ones, whose house owners are caring and not meddlesome, find a home away from home.

Sonika, a nurse,says,"It’s just like a family away from home. You don’t feel homesick". Sonika has been offered official accommodation but doesn’t want to move out because of her attachment with 'aunty' and uncle’( the house owners), who have taken good care of her. Meenakshi, another paying guest who is a B.Com student at SD College, is also satisfied with the arrangement.

Getting ready-to-eat food on a platter is certainly the biggest advantage PGs enjoy. Sheetal, a postgraduate student of Panjab University , points out that though this arrangement is a bit costly, it saves her the botheration of maintaining a kitchen and preparing khana after a busy, tiring day. More so in the chilly winter months.

Cooking meals is the main hassle students or bachelors living in rented houses face.Sandeep, who is doing a computer course and MA through correspondence, says the main problem for those living away from home is food. In this respect, he finds his life as a PG in sector 20 satisfactory. Mukesh, another PG, says he doesn’t mind paying more for the comfort of a furnished room and home-made food that a paying guest gets.

Adds Anurag, a marketing executive in a private company, , ‘After all, you cannot eat out all the time — and you can’t be too sure of the standard of hygiene and the quality of food you get in dhabas and restaurants’.

But there are others who get fed up with the too many tabs and taboos imposed on PGs by the house owners."The aunty with whom I was initially staying was so interfering. I had to meet my guests outside the gate as we were not allowed to bring them in. We weren't allowed to watch television also ", says a girl from Punjab who has been staying as a PG ever since she took up a job in the city.

While some PGs have to bear the brunt of too many do's and dont's, on the whole the option is safe and the nearest approximation to home, particularly for girls.

Ravi Batra and his wife, Savita , have been keeping PGs in a Sector 32 flat for the past one year. "It is a round-the-clock business. It entails a lot of responsibility but is also great fun", they say. All their family members are involved in it, making their home a lively, happening place. They keep only girls as PGs.

Why only girls ? "They’re easy to manage, pay their dues in time and don’t create a fuss", says the couple. On the flip side, they say that the odd timings of PGs (doctors, nurses or journalists who work in late-night shifts) can cause inconvenience . But such cases have to be dealt with care, they add.

The couple also provides tiffin service — sending home-prepared food to people living alone or unable to prepare their own food.

For Maj H.S. Dhingra (retd) of Sector 46, it's more than business. He likes to call his PG accommodation as Sunshine-46.He, too, keeps only girls as PGs.

A perfectionist and strict disciplinarian — typical Army man traits — he has 18-20 girl PGs at present. All of them are students of classes ranging from plus two to final year of graduation and from distant areas like Ladakh, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh.

He claims that for the safety of his PGs, he has installed special alarms and devices like hooters. Describing the experience as "satisfying and just like bringing up one's own children", he further claims that he takes his PGs for movies and fishing or trekking expeditions, of course at extra charges . The birthdays of PGs are also celebrated to make them "feel at home".

On the other hand, Jagjit Singh of Sector 35 keeps only boys as PGs. He is a recent entrant into this line—since about eight months .

Deepak, again, has only male PGs and arranges accommodation for this purpose in various sectors.

A low-priced, cheaper version, especially for boys from the lower middle class, is also available, particularly in sector 15. In this, several rooms are given to boys on sharing basis, but the owner does not stay on the premises. Instead, only a cook (bahadur) is around to make the meals.

However, in this type of arrangement as there are no tabs on who comes or goes and the owner is not present to maintain vigil, there is a tendency on the part of ' inmates' to misuse the premises for immoral activities.