Home is where the heart is

 

What does a house mean to you? Some people spend an entire lifetime making the perfect house, while some of us are just happy wherever we are.  I have never really been emotionally attached to any house because we moved often and I have lived in many houses.

Except one house. It was the house where I spent most of summer vacations and it was where my grandparents used to live along with my uncles and aunts. There was nothing fancy about the house and yet it was an extraordinary one simply because of the memories and precious moments associated with it. Madras wasn’t a concrete jungle back then and this house had a lot of space around it. There were several fruit trees in the backyard, but the most enticing ones of them all were the mango trees. Boredom was unknown to us because there was always one tree or the other to climb, or some fruit ready to be plucked and eaten.  

A house is made of bricks and walls they say, but it becomes a home only because of the people who live in it. My grandparents filled the house with so much warmth and love and the house seemed to resonate with it. We always had people visiting us and there never was a dull moment.  No phones, no cable tv and of course no social media. We only had each other for company and that’s what made our summers even more special. Our neighbours were like extended family and we were always a part of each other's lives. 

There was a bench in front of the house and a seating area where the entire family would gather in the evenings after dinner or during power cuts to chat into eternity. Bad weather or mosquitoes- nothing affected us! Life was a lot simpler and a lot happier. We moved to different other houses after this one and although each one was special in its own way, nothing came close to this house. This house has seen it all – happy times and sad times,  but it was a house that brought everyone together and made sure everyone was happy. Each one of us have the best moments of our lives here and these special moments are etched in our memories to last there forever.

Home is indeed where the heart is and this house has been the best home ever!

 

 This picture was taken at a much later time after the owners made a few changes. We lived here at a time when mobile phones hadn't replaced 'living the moment' feeling.

Dogs - God' s Gift to Mankind

I was watching the movie ‘Marley & Me’ today. It’s an otherwise ordinary movie, but for the last few scenes. As the movie was nearing its end, the emotional side of me came to life and I found tears streaming down my cheeks. To those of you who have seen the movie or read the book – I am sure you’ll know why it is so heart wrenching. The movie ended and as I wiped off the last tear, I looked up at my son, who was watching the movie with me, and was surprised to see him cry too. He wasn’t just crying, he was weeping.  I have never seen him become so emotional for a movie, for he is all but 9 years old. He told me the movie reminded him of his favorite dog, Chocos, at my dad’s place. We lost her to a snake bite a few months ago and that made my boy really sad. 

What made Chocos so special to him I wonder?! They kind of grew up together in different places. She was with my father in his farm house and Sid was always eager to visit the farm so he could play with her. She would always be by his side and they played a lot together. But I didn’t know he missed her so much, until I saw him cry today. 

Well, what is it with these dogs that make them so special? Chocos was not the first dog my dad had. We have had dogs earlier and each one of them had been special in their own way. I wonder if it is the way they greet you when they see you (like it has been a million years since they last saw you), or is it the way they recognize the sound of your vehicle (although there are plenty of cars going up and down the road) or your foot steps, or the way they walk with you wherever you go, or the way they just know that you aren’t in the best of your moods and sit by you, or when they are being their usual silly self! 

But unless you have a dog, you really don’t know what it is to be loved by one. When you provide a little room for your dog in your heart, your dog ensures that its entire heart is for you. The happiness your dog expresses on seeing you and those innumerable licks or hugs are priceless and can’t be replaced. They teach you to love and they teach you about unconditional love. 

My dad and I went to see our first pup without the intention of getting her home. But the minute she came rolling towards us, we knew she was ours. There was no second thought and we brought her home. To date, I think she was the best dog my dad ever had. Before we got her, we wondered how we were going to manage with her, but after she came home, we wondered how life would be without her. You don’t really find a dog for yourself, the dog finds you!

I have seen many pets come and go in my life. And every time they go, the pain is terrible. But the moments they spend with you are memories that are etched in your heart forever.