Outsider: The city that gave people wings — but left many searching for an anchor

Born into an Army family, Dr Manmit Kumarr spent her childhood moving from one city to another, learning to adapt quickly and call each new place home

Born into an Army family, Dr Manmit Kumarr spent her childhood moving from one city to another, learning to adapt quickly and call each new place home. However, when the 50-year-old came to Gurugram in 2006, it wasn’t just another city.

Dr Manmit Kumarr

Kumarr moved into Sushant Lok-1 when Gurugram was still finding its shape — new residential projects were coming up, apartment living was becoming a new culture and people were beginning to imagine life in a rapidly developing urban landscape.

What she saw was a city attracting people from across India and, increasingly, from different parts of the world. They arrived with ambition, skills and dreams, hoping to create an identity of their own. Gurugram offered that possibility.

Two decades later, Kumarr sees another side of the city’s extraordinary growth. Gurugram works at a relentless pace. People build companies, chase careers, manage businesses and constantly strive for the next milestone. The city gives wings to dreams, but the same intensity can leave people exhausted and searching for meaning.

“People here work extremely hard. There is so much ambition, but somewhere in that hustle, people can lose themselves. You can achieve everything you wanted and still ask yourself — what next? Where is the peace? What is the purpose of my life?” she says.

That, she believes, is the quieter challenge facing a city known for its economic success: wellbeing.

As Gurugram became wealthier and more global, Kumarr noticed a growing need among residents to slow down, reconnect with themselves and find an inner sense of stability. Her own journey — from nearly two decades in the corporate world across hospitality, the electrical sector and marketing to entrepreneurship and eventually spirituality — brought her closer to this gap.

She began advocating a form of “spirituality” that could coexist with modern urban life.

“In a city as hectic as Gurugram, people need an inner anchor — a space where they can pause, breathe and reconnect with who they are beyond their designation and achievements. You don’t have to leave your job, your family or your city to find yourself. Spirituality has to become part of daily life,” she says.

For Kumarr, Gurugram’s next chapter should therefore be about more than physical infrastructure. The city continues to grapple with last-mile connectivity, public transport, waterlogging and waste management, even as concerns around safety that once dominated conversations have reduced. But another form of urban infrastructure is equally important — emotional and spiritual wellbeing.

Gurugram has given outsiders an opportunity to become insiders. It has allowed people without an inherited identity to build one. Yet, amid the traffic, towers, deadlines and ambition, many are still looking for a place within themselves.

“Gurugram gives you the courage to dream, but you also need the wisdom to understand why you are dreaming. The city has taught people how to run. Now, perhaps, it is time to teach ourselves how to pause,” Kumarr says.

For someone who spent her childhood repeatedly saying goodbye to cities, Gurugram became the place where she finally stayed. It gave her opportunity, entrepreneurship and eventually a spiritual calling. After watching the city transform from a developing suburb into a global workplace, she believes its future should also be measured by whether the people living here feel rooted, peaceful and connected to a sense of purpose.

Kumarr believes that in a city that has mastered the art of moving forward, perhaps the next revolution is learning when to stop.

(Dr Manmit Kumarr is founder of Soul Miracles and a resident of Sector 48)