House are like people

 

Houses are like people

 

The houses I have lived in have left indelible impressions on me. They have shaped my character, cheered my spirit, cast shadows over my soul, and made me what I am now.

 

Sun and wind flood our present house. This warms my heart as soon as I enter. Trees in our building compound are tall and leafy. They caress the windows of all rooms, branches swaying in a varying rhythm, which often keeps me pleasantly awake. Glittering ocean in the sunshine during the day and in the milky white moonlit night gives me the sense of soaring high. I keep staring at the silvery surf of the ocean at 3 am.

 

Our house in Juhu came with all the majesty of a beachfront. We went to the beach for morning walks in summer, evening picnics in winter, and frolicked in crashing waves of the monsoon. The house provided a ringside view of Mumbai's street life. Honking buses halted our conversations in the sitting room, and the smell of food from the restaurant below waffled throughout the day.

 

We lived in several houses in Baroda, and all of them had an open porch or vast terrace. Our children grew with a great sense of space and freedom.

 

Calcutta flat in Middleton Street had a supermarket attached to it and street food sellers livened up the market. The flat had a large balcony where the entire family read Sunday papers.

 

As a young boy, I grew up in a family house that was a vast complex of maze and alleyways, rooms and roofs, thousand windows, and dark corners. The house created a sense of awe and thrill for a young boy.

 

As a young MBA student, I moved into a small studio flat in Ahmadabad. The House was on the first floor so I carried my beloved cycle up and down daily to protect it. I cooked on a kerosene stove, slept on a terrace, cycled a long distance to see Hollywood movies, and reveled in my bachelor days. 

 

I am not likely to change houses any longer. But I am excited to see houses my children are moving in and out carrying their dreams, their future, and their belongings like we did.