| Strong and sturdy, the house represented our | | | | from one end of the road to the other, and must |
| family to us. We lived in a close-knit unit that | | | | have been filled with the happy sounds of at least |
| encompassed uncles, aunts, cousins, their kids and | | | | a dozen children. |
| every other guest who decided to visit and stay. | | | | The rasodo, kitchen, an important place, had a |
| As children we never quite knew whom to call | | | | stove - a very crude counter top structure that |
| siblings and who to call cousins. It was one huge | | | | had two burners, with a large space underneath |
| family living under one roof. I remember my | | | | for the wood logs that formed its fuel. Lit early |
| mother and all the female relatives cooking happily | | | | each morning, it burnt all day, and was used for |
| in the kitchen, sometimes for as many as thirty | | | | every single need, including heating water for a |
| people, without the slightest flutter of panic. | | | | bath. A sigri, coal stove, was used for smaller |
| The house seemed huge when we were small. | | | | cooking needs like making rotlis, paper thin wheat |
| The endless rooms had really solid, thick walls. | | | | chapattis, or a quick cup of tea. |
| Parts of it had a ground and first floor, that was | | | | No Gujarati household is ever complete without a |
| beamed with wood, on which rested red tiles. | | | | jhoola, and we were lucky to have two of them. |
| Each room had a name that described it, and my | | | | One in the outside room, where the men |
| grandmother, Dadima, refused to call them by | | | | entertained, and another in the inner room where |
| any other name. She always spoke to us in | | | | the women sat with female guests. We, the |
| Gujarati, even though we were actually from | | | | children, would spend hours swinging higher and |
| Bhuj, and were supposed to be talking in Kuchchhi. | | | | higher trying very hard to get out footsteps on |
| Strong and big boned, she could freeze us with a | | | | the ceiling. A couple of times a few of us slipped |
| single look. Even my Dadaji was petrified of her | | | | off accidentally, but nothing serious ever |
| although he stood six feet tall and had a luxuriant | | | | happened. We were quite adept at taking care of |
| moustache that curved upwards - macho style. | | | | ourselves - lying flat on the floor till the swing |
| A courtyard formed the center of all activity in | | | | stopped, or yell like crazy till every member of |
| the house. It never stopped fascinating me how | | | | the household came rushing to see what the |
| you could not see into the house from outside, | | | | problem was, offer appropriate sympathy and go |
| and there was no 'gate' as such, something our | | | | off to get on with their chores. |
| home, in Coimbatore has. A few steps led to the | | | | Those were carefree days, with no television, no |
| Deli, or outside door. We had platforms called | | | | electricity and not too many cars. We walked all |
| Otlas on either side of the door, on the exterior, | | | | over Bhuj, whether it was to the shop at the |
| right next to the road. Made of solid wood, the | | | | market, or to the park, on our evening outing. |
| Deli could be opened from outside as well as from | | | | At night, during the summer, we would put out |
| inside. We left things lying in the courtyard, all night | | | | the coir rope beds, with cotton mattresses on |
| long, and nothing would actually happen to them. | | | | them, and sleep under the stars in the courtyard. |
| Nothing would go missing unless the object was a | | | | I always made sure my bed was made as far |
| book that the cow decided to eat for her | | | | away from the cattle as possible, afraid one of |
| midnight snack, because it fluttered too close to | | | | them would decide to nibble my hair off my scalp. |
| her nose. Besides, it tasted different from her | | | | After an early dinner, we were sometimes |
| normal, boring grass. | | | | allowed to perform small plays, dances and songs |
| Each morning, before dawn snaked its way into | | | | for our family. I would imagine myself to be a |
| another day, the cowherd would arrive and round | | | | Manipuri dancer, and bend as low as possible in an |
| up our cattle, taking them to destinations | | | | attempt at being graceful. A bullied cousin was put |
| unknown, and would bring them back each | | | | in charge of making sure everybody watched, |
| evening - a satisfied bunch. Once, my brother, an | | | | and applauded. |
| aspiring cowherd went along just for the | | | | That experience has paid off, and today he is a |
| experience. 'It was fun,' he claimed, returning | | | | leading solicitor with a thriving practice in Bombay. |
| looking all red and dirty, but completely bored. | | | | My real sanctuary was the little attic. It had an |
| A special room right next to the entrance, on one | | | | attached terrace, and I spent a lot of time there. |
| side of the courtyard held fodder for the cattle, | | | | I would read, write or simply be, listening to the |
| making me wonder about the quantum of food | | | | sounds from the road below. The room was hot, |
| they ate through the night. "Chew, moo, chew. | | | | very hot during the summer, but it was my |
| That is all they do," I sang at age six, I knew I | | | | private space. Nobody ventured up the steep |
| would write poetry some day. An Enid Blyton fan, | | | | wooden staircase. I could'nt stand straight in it, |
| I decided to name the cattle. The cow was | | | | unless I stood in the middle of the inverted |
| Bessie, the goats, although both female, were | | | | beamed V. |
| George and Billy. | | | | During our last pilgrimage there, my sister and I |
| One particular room held a lot of mystery for my | | | | had gone to pray to our family deity. Grown up, |
| young mind. Always locked, it was dark, intriguing. | | | | with families of our own, we felt that the house |
| I would sit on the staircase that led to the | | | | had shrunk. It no longer looked or felt as huge as |
| terrace wondering what was inside the trunks | | | | it had during our childhood. It seemed sad to me, |
| that lay stacked one on top of the other. Soft, | | | | desolate almost, not half as mysterious, tired. My |
| fluffy, gray cobwebs added to the untouchedness | | | | grandparents were both gone, in their place lived |
| of the room, and the old lock, huge, rusting but | | | | strange but welcoming tenants. The house had |
| secure protected all that was inside. Obviously, | | | | electricity and water flowed out of taps. Soft |
| precious things, I imagined. Diamonds, rubies, | | | | water no longer had to be drawn and brought |
| pearls and gold crammed lay crammed inside, like | | | | from a well at the other end of town. Our |
| in Ali Baba's cave, but never really ventured to | | | | tenants had TV, and the cattle fodder room was |
| ask my Dadima what it really was. I suspect even | | | | no longer in use. There were no cattle to feed. |
| she did not herself quite remember. | | | | But it held a very important part of me, one I |
| What she did remember, though, was that the | | | | would not, could not let go. |
| house was over two hundred and fifty years old. | | | | Then, just as I was planning my next visit, the |
| She told us tales of how her father, who was a | | | | house died. Razed to the ground by violent jolts |
| very important minister in the king's court had | | | | of fate. On January 26th 2001 we lost our |
| given her a share of his huge house as part of | | | | ancestral home, one that we thought was |
| her dowry. The part that did not come to her, | | | | invincible and strong. With it, we lost very dear |
| was divided into many smaller bits and | | | | members of our family. All that remains amidst |
| bequeathed to other members of the family. | | | | the rubble is the tiny temple - the abode of our |
| During its undivided heyday, the house stretched | | | | family god, and our memories. |