Irritating neighbour needs sensible dealing

It doesn’t make any difference how much you admire the locality in which you live or how much you love your home, having a troublesome neighbour next door can kill all your pleasure.

“I often find it best to try to overlook trivial occasional provocations as it is not always possible to enter into an argument with a vexing neighbour. Such line of action at the end of the day saves me a lot of sleepless nights,” says Asad Abbas, a college lecturer.

“If the misbehaviour isn’t aggressive but is just an annoyance or a small distraction, I think approaching the annoying neighbour in a friendly manner, inviting him over for a cup of tea, and trying to discuss the grievance in a gentle way is a best solution. In some cases, the neighbour may not even be aware that his habits are bothersome,” says Ali Akbar Rizvi, a lawyer by profession.

Sania Naqvi, a private company worker, says: “A good example is a neighbour that permits her children to play cricket in the street while you’re trying to do your unfinished office assignment on the computer. It may be that she only wishes to finish her household chores while her kids are outside, and she may not be aware of your work time. Once aware, she may just reach a decision to allow her kids play later, and you will have settled the difference and may even end up liking your once irksome neighbour.”

“Once I found myself living in a rented house alongside a neighbour who was mentally loose and every so often generated factual difficulties for my family. She was often seen throwing parties or playing loud music, talking at the top of voice with family members and guests, driving too fast up and down the street, and engaging in any number of irrational behaviours. The best way I adopted to deal with this type of creature was to avoid the heat of the moment conflict. I never stormed over to the irritating neighbour’s home while upset and while she was sleeping,” says Sakina Zaidi, a foreign ministry employee.

“Such neighbours can at times be harmful, and you don’t wish to see yourself on the edge of a physical quarrel. You had better get in touch with the annoying neighbour at another time to ask for some show of respect. At times, you may also find that you have no choice but to call the mohallawallas to intervene if the problem persists, but this won’t help your relationship with your neighbour, so you had better contact the neighbour on your own, meeting her separately. This kind of approach may help quiet things down,” adds Sakina.