As a consequence of modern life and modern industrial economy, every year the proportion of people staying in cities increases as compared to those staying in villages. Of the many facets of city life is one where one may live in a city home or apartment for years without having any social interaction with one's immediate neighbors.

One commemorates or celebrates special events such as deaths, anniversaries, birthdays and weddings in city homes just as much as village people do in village homes, and it may sometime happen that one invites friends and relatives to such an occasion from different parts of the city but not one's neighbors. There is an old saying to the effect that if an event is celebrated where no friends or relatives are invited then the gods may still bless it if they deem fit, but if an occasion is celebrated without inviting any neighbor the gods too shall withhold their blessing. One may not believe in God or gods in the modern scientific world but it would be unwise to reject the wisdom hidden in old proverbs and sayings.

An excellent practice some city neighborhoods have started is to define a group of twelve neighboring homes and then fix the last Sunday evening of a month for a neighborhood get-together. If a particular homeowner is busy in the month when his or her turn comes he can exchange his assigned month with another neighbor by mutual arrangement. Such get together's are good occasions to discuss a neighborhood issue and thereby improve the neighborhood. They also serve as a forum to exchange any useful information about the neighborhood such as the availability of a new opportunity, service or potential hazard that you may not have heard about.

Even if one does not wish to be friendly with one's neighbors there may be an occasion when one has to deal with them for a neighborhood issue, or seek their help in an emergency therefore it is definitely not wise to ignore neighbors totally. Moreover, neighbors have you on their mind more frequently than relatives. Perhaps telepathic bad wishes of neighbors are not effective but they can remain silent when they see a break-in taking place into your place perhaps even gloat at it incase you have been particularly mean. Moreover no one can stop a neighbor from observing and gossiping to other neighbors if they wish to. It is true that some neighbors are interfering if one becomes friendly or they may not be your type or perhaps they are too aloof to have bothered to talk to you. This is when a special occasion comes in handy. Inviting them on a special occasion provides an excuse to invite them and does not translate into daily friendships. Probably there are enough people present at a celebration so that it does not matter if some are not your type. So next time there is an occasion at your place worth inviting people you need not become a good Christian suddenly by loving your neighbor, but don't forget them, and may the best wishes of this author be with you for that occasion, provided you have done so.