As I sit in my guest house today, I keep thinking to myself - what makes you call a place a home? Its the people, its the environment, its the memories.... Naturally, I found myself asking the question, "So, if I remove the people and if the memories get tarnished, will the place cease to be your home?" While the answer seemed very evident, I decided to put this hypothesis to test...
In my life till date, different places have become "homes" at different points in time.... First is obviously the house I was born and brought up in... Then comes my school - 12 years of my life and 6 - 8 hours everyday... that's a significant chunk of your life... Never really thought of VJTI as my home... While there were most significant memories and very significant people associated with those 4 years - I still do not get the "homely" feeling... Then was the house I shared with a dear friend during the time at Infosys.... IIMB - for all that it gave me and finally, the place I live in after 18th April 2009!!!
Now, my first home is actually a place where my parents live... While I would want them to stay in the house I have lived for good 24 years, if they move - "my home" moves... In case of school - the teachers who taught me, who are responsible for me turning out the way I am today - are no longer present in school... While I still love my school (I go to the annual day celebrations if I am in town) I just cant associate with it anymore... With VJTI out of my list, Infosys rented apartment was a home coz of what Shruti and I did while we were there... And I come to same conclusion as in 2 cases before - my experience there was defined by a person not so much by memories...
Coming to IIMB as a home - there exists an irregularity!!! While memories have faded into oblivion (some willingly, some forced), some bonds still exist.... I love people looking forward to me coming down on campus and I love the hospitality I get... When I go there, I still love the ambience the place offers, the night outs the place brandishes, the nerves of steel that get developed looking at the placecom board (the one where I saw my seniors getting shortlists - my friends and me getting shortlists and my facchas getting the companies they ALWAYS wanted), the profs who still are keen to have a dialogue, L^2s and stories with each one of them, the intensity involved in the throwball - TOW - baski matches...
And yet, this home is ephemeral - a life of 3 years only... It is bonded with the people who were there one year before me and one year after... But more importantly its the memories which play an equally important role... My senior came to campus this year and found himself reminiscing the time he had there but he dint want to leave my side coz to associate with this place as home he needed both me (a familiar face) and his memories... Another friend - a batchmate - said, "its feels weird to make an appearance on campus often... What if people think - kya jab dekho campus aa jaati hai..."
How is this home when I think twice before coming to it?? How do I have people, the memories and yet "home" isn't at IIMB once I pass out.... Why cant I live at IIMB for days together without giving it a second thought.... The place I owned till April 2009 is a place I am a visitor in less than 2 months....
Its an "AND" function PEOPLE AND MEMORIES to make a place call home - coz with memories your mind is present and with people your heart is....
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