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Spice of Life | Blessed to be home, our harbour of love, security
A colonial-era mansion built by British missionaries in 1852, it has housed six generations of my family, including my son and me. It houses cherished memories of our loved ones, some of who have transcended to eternity.
Home is where the heart is, which is why I painstakingly maintain it and protect it from grabbers and land sharks. I believe it’s one of God’s blessings to my son and me now that the members of the joint family we once shared it with, have relocated.
Perhaps that’s why I can barely stop when someone asks me to describe my beloved domain of 49 years. A colonial-era mansion built by British missionaries in 1852, it has housed six generations of my family, including my son and me. It houses cherished memories of the beautiful moments we spent here with our loved ones, some of who have transcended to eternity.
It’s been our harbour through Covid-19 and weather extremities. Now we share it with our help and some winged and four-legged friends, who stop by to say ‘hello’ almost daily. Some even fly in sometimes to greet us and spend time with us. Speaking of birds, including the robins, most of these are known for their nest-site fidelity. Familiarity with the surroundings is often cited as a reason for this habit of theirs, especially around the breeding season.
What does that have to do with you, you might ask. A lot, I think. Eponymous with a majestic bird of prey, I, too, am a kind of a homing pigeon. How? Whenever I relocate to a new address, I return to this place within days. Call it my ‘fidelity’, or what you may, this mansion seems to be made for my son and me, and vice-versa. This house knows ways and means of calling us back. We rush right back to it whenever we step out even for a day or two.
“The magic thing about home is that it feels good to leave and it feels even better to come back,” says author Wendy Wunder. I couldn’t agree more. So, it was no wonder when after a fun-filled day spent with my brother and his family at Ludhiana, my son and I decided to return despite their loving invitation to stay on for a few days.
We share similar sentiments as far as our abode is concerned. ‘Home sweet home’ we exclaimed in unison as the taxi entered our driveway. A melodious chirp greeted us as soon as we unlocked the door. ‘Welcome back!’ it seemed to say. It was a robin perched in a corner of the 25-foot-high ceiling of my room. It nests on one of the trees in our garden.
We expected it to stay as night had fallen and placed some breadcrumbs and water for it in a corner. Soon it alighted from its perch in the ceiling and merely looked at the food and water but did not taste it, probably worrying about its young. It explored the room gingerly trying to spot an exit and hopped towards it as soon as it found it, pausing and turning around to face us.
Thinking it was scared of flying out in the dark, we decided to let it spend the night inside the house. But it seemed to change its mind, and chirped ‘Thanks, but, maybe next time…’ before flying off to its nest. The following day it paused at our door as if to thank us and let us know that it had reached home safely the night before. “Though I wish it could have stayed last night, I am happy it could return to its nest. Home is where one gets love and freedom. I’m grateful to God for blessing us with one,” said my son as he hugged me tightly.
The writer is an Amritsar-based freelance contributor and can be reached at shaheen.parshad@gmail.com
