8 April 2010
Har ghar ki kahani
Moving into a new house can be so draining- both physically and emotionally. Setting up the whole place, making it liveable and look nice, adding that individual touch in the arrangement of things and of course the selection of furniture, upholstery and other things, give every house a characteristic touch. Isn’t it amazing what different people would do and how they’d use different things given same space! Though it is the people that make a home, it’s interesting to learn what makes a person ‘feel’ at home. It may be a comfy couch that you love slumping on, the organised kitchen, the cluttered study table, an overflowing wardrobe, a refrigerator almost empty from within but full of things placed on top, a hundred newspapers under the centre table, little baby things all over, a bathroom that smells of your soap, a unique door bell, the china plates that you eat in, the sheets that u snore in, the wall-hangings, the leather sofa that you sit with your feet on or the diwan with a bright coloured spread, your pooja-ghar and the fragrance of familiar incense, an old rug or that expensive painting that adorns the wall, the T.V. set with its cello-taped remote, an antique vase that your Grandma gifted, the velvet touch walls or the occasionally scribbled ones, an old Godrej cupboard or a built-in wardrobe....... whether chatai or Persian rug, your house is your house!! Every house has its own personality and says a lot about the people who live in it. You get so used to these things in the house along with the people in it, that it is this that makes you feel at home. The predictability!! – The certainness of things!! The sureness of that which is unchanging. The look of the house and its colour scheme, finding things in all the right or wrong places, keeping things where you are accustomed keeping them, the food that is served and the nature and temperament of the people who live there…….. You are so used to all this, it is your comfort zone, it is your habit! This is your place and you live in it uninhibitedly. There is no mask, just the mirror. You are yourself!! You can scratch where there is an itch, squeal and moan and groan, dance in your pyjamas, sing in the bathroom, sleep or wake up late, have leftover rice for breakfast, there is no one watching and judging. You are comfortable in this cocoon. You love it! It's the best in the whole world. Your house is a reflection of your tastes, preferences and personality. You lend it a certain character.....You are the house you live in.
