Home sweet home

Yesterday I was waiting for D at the Chetpet Railway station. I suppose it would win the prize for one of the most uninviting station sitting in the midst of heaps of garbage. If you wonder what is new about Indian stations like this? The answer is the approach that goes through the by-lanes of a higher income slum (if you could call that).

Let me stop digressing and come to the post on hand which is not about Railways. I parked my bike on a vacant area abutting an authorized dump yard and waited for the train carrying D when a very unremarkable middle aged lady brushed by me. She went up to a tree and took off a bag from her shoulder and hung it on the tree. Then rummaging into something behind the same tree she pulled out a mat spread it on the ground and promptly went to sleep.

I awoke to the fact that I was in the living premises of somebody and I retreated to a safe distance. Looking around I saw several more dwelling places where neither walls nor roofs limited the habitable space of its occupants. Yes, you had an abundance of common area for free, that flat promoters would charge you an arm and leg for. The people I saw lived peacefully in the midst of the squalor I so detested stepping into a few minutes earlier.

A home is a very emotional issue for most of us and for many it is more than an investment or a tax saver. It is said bricks and mortar don’t make a home. It hit me hard yesterday, it really doesn’t. For most getting their own house is a huge achievement whether it is like these homes without boundaries or a brick and mortar one or even like this one. Whether a peaceful sleep to the occupants in each of these can be a common denominator is the big question.

I am trying to find a house that will fit my budget and looks like its going to be a long search.

IMG_0653 IMG_0654 IMG_0663Dakshinchitra - tamil house courtyard Bramin colonyKerala house Kerala house - long V bpcl logos 142 Kerla chistian house karnataka house rural andra


Some pictures of traditional South Indian homes taken by a traveler in one of my favourite spots in Chennai, Dakshin Chitra.

Comments

  1. Everybody will have their own dreams about their dream home.. And I'm not sure what to cal this 27 storied mansion for a family of six !!

    ReplyDelete
  2. if we are going to build our house, the fusion of the various styles that we like, will make onlookers think we are slightly mad

    our house, will it remain a dream... :(

    ReplyDelete
  3. There was a fire-accident in one of the slums that we are working in. We provided relief materials to our clients who had lost almost all or everything. The most basic things they needed cost under Rs.600. And it was possible to pack it all in a sack...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Interesting observation in this post.. true, that you could be trespassing on someone's home right whne you're waiting at the bus stop or train station... Home is where the heart is.. I wonder also about so many of us who leave our real hometowns to settle in different cities or countries... how do you answer the question "where is my home?"...

    Btw, read the poem by Kipling after ages on your sidebar... thanks for reminding me of it!

    ReplyDelete
  5. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  6. why does this country have so much poverty? *sigh* :|

    and the saddest part is, right after eating like a dog and burning a huge hole in our pockets (for the ambiance of the fancy eat out) we find people begging.

    makes me sick to the stomach!

    ReplyDelete
  7. oooo lovely pictures
    happy house hunting

    ReplyDelete
  8. beautiful pics... i wonder how, what with the estate prices going up, people are supposed to buy houses for themselves? a two BHK in pune itself is about 30-40 lkhs...

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous11:32 pm

    i like the fotos...

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Your take on this?

Popular posts from this blog

Bad donkey, small wall.

Po poi velaya paaru...

Battle of the movies - Annaathe Vs Jailer