Home Sweet Home

Rachna Vinod

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Although nostalgic about the times they spent together, Raju and Nancy had no intention of returning back to the valley. Adverse situation had taken them away from their homes in prime of youth with romantic ideas about the life. Roughing out for sheer survival, had taught them different meanings of sentimental value. Their children had grown up in different place in different situation where they knew this much only that their ancestors belonged to Kashmir from where they were dislocated. They felt no connectivity with the place other than that. Those children had their own lives to live. This was their first visit to the valley. Nancy and Raju were bereft of any desire to revive that sense of belonging to the place where they had no relatives left. Sheer belongingness to the place of their birth and upbringing had made them suffer mercilessly for years together. With no ill will towards anyone, where there the destiny had taken them, there was their home now.

Sikhya noticed vast change including herself, in her buddies' overall attitude. Her family didn't own any property in Srinagar. They always lived in rental accommodation. Without bothering about owning or renting, she wasn't born there but she grew up there ever since perhaps a month-old child. She had always felt alive there. She had struck a strong bond of intimate familiarity with the surroundings. She had no relatives other than her parents living there permanently. Relatives would come temporarily during pleasant season for a few days as visitors. She had her own close circle of friends. She always felt a sense of belonging with the place. What does it matter if this was not her birth place! How did it matter if they never owned any immovable property there? But it did matter later when her family was made to feel through one way or the other that this was not their place and were advised by certain well-meaning close family friends to leave till the heat of hatred subsided. She already had left after her marriage with Walker. So, she never thought of herself as taker of such advice. But Paras and Rama had no reason to defy the advice of their sincere friends of so many years. So, they had left in the hope of returning back again to the place where they had setup their home. The situation taking ugly turns discouraged their well-meaning sincere friends from advising them to return back for ' the time being '. That ' the time being ' kept on extended into long years of yearning for the place which they used to feel pride in declaring their home and from they were uprooted.

Sikhya had opted for road travel for her journey back to her ancestral home. She was very well aware of the efforts of her parents to once again become adaptive to ancestral home which provided them with much needed comforting shelter in times of need. It had taken them quite a few years to realise that they were no more welcome in the valley as permanent residents. There was no objection to their visit as visitors. This was how their well-meaning, sincere friends of many years had put it. Looking at her parents' calm and satisfied expression on their faces, Sikhya was happy that she could make their visit to the valley possible. Pondering over wheel of life, she treated her parents, now in their old age, as her children who needed to be taken care and pampered. ' Sometimes the fierce storms uproot old trees but same storm may bring some seeds scattering all over the place. Some seeds get into fertile soil somewhere and blossom into new healthy trees. The life continues. Such is the law of nature', Sikhya philosophised the crux of her visit to Srinagar. She had opted for road travel to relive the excitement and love for traveling on her familiar NH-44. She wanted to share her excitement with her children who didn't show much interest. They were busy in playing games on their mobiles. Her parents were dozing. Walker as usual was happily nodding to whatever she was saying. Reconciling with everyone's attitude, Sikhya smiling to herself looked outside the window trying to strike any connectivity with childhood landmarks on NH-44.

There was no change in the scenic beauty. The snowy peaks of mighty mountains were same. The flowing river Chinab was roaring same way. The waterfalls were adding to the scenic beauty same way. But as her journey progressed, she found drastic change. The roads had widened. The familiar twists and turns had disappeared. Those were replaced by straightened roads. Many big and small all-weather tunnels enroute had shortened the distances. The familiar dhabas serving fresh delicious food with onion chutney were replaced by new eating joints with modern look. Signs of progress and development keeping pace with world technology, were visible everywhere. Hitherto many unknown picturesque spots had made their visibility on both sides of open roads. Sikhya was happy and mesmerized by the new look of NH-44 though, now and then, she could find fleeting glimpses of connectivity with gone landmarks. Roads to her ancestral home had also improved and become much wider. After spending a few days there with her parents, Sikhya and her family returned back to Aberdeen, Scotland where she had setup her home with Walker.

Her children once again, got busy with their own lives. Walker also became busy on the farm. Taking up to her writings, Sikhya made notes of her visit to Jammu and Kashmir. Coping up with harsh as well as pleasant memories of her life in Kashmir, she had realised that perhaps, particular place and ambience might not be claimed but the memories exclusively owned by her, were her only past belongings which carved out her present, paving the way for her life in future. Everyone is an ambassador of one's country, one's culture. We invariably represent the country which gives us our identity, our belongingness. Whether we like it or not, we always carry a part of that country, that culture with us reflecting our roots and our growth. Reconciled with what she had experienced in new fresh wave breezing through Kashmir, she busied herself in providing cosy ambience to her family in her home sweet home in the countryside of coastal city of Aberdeen in picturesque Scotland.

(Excerpts from author's novel "Kashmir Konnectivity: A Bio-Sketch)