My father had planned for a vacation right after my sister completed her 12th exams. Dad wanted her to chill out after a hectic year of preps and exams and preps and exams. We were in Goa, in a wonderful villa overlooking the sea amidst a beautiful property. It was around the third day of our holiday, when we were relaxing after a para-sailing experience that we noticed my sister was slightly down. When dad asked her what was wrong, she said that she was home-sick. Mom, Dad and I were surprised and did not know how to react, considering that the very people who were at home were present at that moment. She said she liked the holiday but was beginning to miss home.

df40c-buy-new-house-100349191

Image Courtesy: FreeDigitalPhotos

There was this friend of mine at work who never looked forward to the holidays like how other hostellers do. She had opted for an individual room and though she preferred staying away from the hostel gangs, she was someone who would keep herself occupied some way or the other. She always used to tag along with us city dwellers and despite the considerable distance involved she used to manage and ask us not to worry. She used to come with us for movies and shopping and for anything and everything. Sometimes she used to spend time by herself cooking and reading and inviting us to her place. She maintained her place very well and she took special care in decorating each and every corner. She even told me that she looked forward to spending time in her 1BHK room than her hometown because this place made her comfortable and made her look forward to going home after a hard day’s work.

Home is where the heart is. But is it your home or home away from home?

I am emotionally attached to my home. I saw it being built from scratch. Along with the bricks and cement, my dreams and thoughts also went into the construction and that is why I can call this house my home. It’s been more than a decade since we moved in and every corner has some memory attached to it. All my problems and worries just disappear when I step into my balcony and sit on the swing (the traditional one) and just stare at the sky.

For people like my friend, who was looking for an opportunity to get away from an environment that prevented her from being herself, she was lucky enough to find a home away from home and build it from scratch. Yes the structures were present, but she got to fill up the place with memories and get into a comfort zone where she could smile and cry and vent out her frustrations in an environment that made her feel comfortable. Despite not being lucky enough to grow up in a place she could call home, she was lucky enough to find some place which she could call her home.

In case you’re wondering what I’m trying to convey, I was talking to a friend about how it would be difficult for people who are emotionally attached to their homes to move away to another city and set up a new home. That’s when the aforementioned friend stated, that some people like her who aren’t comfortable in the environment they grew up in, look forward to setting up a home at a home away from home. I was finding it tough to accept it, but then I realized it was because I liked the environment I grew up in and a few don’t get it that easily. And when things aren’t quite according to the way you want them to, there are people like my friend who find the right time to step out and still find a place that they would proudly and lovingly call their home.

That’s when we both agreed on something. A home need not necessarily be a place that you spend most of your time growing up, but it will definitely be a home if you step inside and find some peace of mind even if there aren’t any living beings to console you, wherever in the world it may be.

Fair enough?