DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES: Part of the protest brigade at Singhi Park Apartments, which held a promoter’s wife captive for seven hours, fed her, made her comfortable and even sang bhajans for her. Pictures by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya

Plates full of idli and kachauri, a chair to put up tired feet and a session of bhajan.

The elaborate body-and-soul arrangements were made by a band of women on Sunday to shame an errant promoter into providing them with basic amenities in their highrise. And the results are already showing.

Around 80 women of Singhi Park Apartments brought Gandhigiri — the tactic of fighting hostility with love, made popular by Lage Raho Munnabhai — to Gariahat by holding their arch rival captive for seven hours, feeding her, making her comfortable and even singing devotional songs to bring about a change of heart.

Among the problems placed before Usha Singhi — she, along with husband Anjan, built Singhi Park Apartments, off Gariahat flyover, in 2004 — was that the elevators in the two blocks, of six and 12 floors, have not been functioning for seven days.

Shortly after Usha was allowed to go by the girl gang, one elevator of each block came alive, as if by magic.

“We now presume that she will get the generator working as well and ensure water supply,” smiled Sadhana Bhatia, one of those who kept Usha confined in the sports room from noon till 7pm on Sunday.

“All we were demanding were the basic facilities we had been promised in the agreement,” said Bhatia. “I told her how my daughter, an ICSE examinee, was struggling to study during power-cuts when we were promised 24 hours generator service.”

GIRL GANG IN GarIAHAT: Singhi Park Apartments

The peeve points against the promoters ranged from lack of parking space to lack of security arrangements, poor illumination to heaps of garbage on the ground floor.

But what pushed the women of the apartment block to desperation was the stopping of all elevators. “The promoter couple refused to respond to our repeated pleas. We waited for seven days, but could not take it any more,” said Kiran Jalan.

So, on Sunday, Usha Singhi got a taste of Gandhigiri. “We entertained her throughout the day, offered her lunch, urged her to put her feet up and relax and finally sang bhajans,” said Anita Jhanji.

While nothing could draw a smile from Usha Singhi — who refused comment on Monday — the protest brigade won’t grudge her that if she finally sets things right in the apartment block.

The homemakers are now the heroes of the Gariahat highrise. Tapas Chakraborty, a doctor, summed it up: “With most husbands too busy at work to bother, the women have got together and done something unique. We salute them.”