Not too long ago, major chunks of habitation in urban India, and the big metros like Delhi, lived in the old neighbourhoods and communities.  Generations of different families were born and brought up in the same surroundings, and neighbours were like extended families, each aware of other families, their darkest secrets, their strengths, and their weaknesses.  Privacy was not a possibility; yet, goodwill and trust were more forthcoming from the community.  Of course, there were many disadvantages, lack of privacy already mentioned for one.  In order to be a part of a community or a neighbourhood, one had to conform to the unspoken laws of the society.  There was little room for tolerance for the wayward.  However, people stood up in defence too.  If I go back sixty-eight years, then numerous stories during the partition on both sides will corroborate this neighbourly trust.  But for these neighbours, many of our…