From House to Home!

Born and raised in a rural heartland of Bihar in a joint family, I learnt the ‘sarvajan hitay sarv jan sukhay” mantra i.e. holistic happiness. Circumstances forced me to leave my cozy confines at home to double decker bed in a boarding school at a tender age of 10. I have since then become a guest in my own family. Who else will understand the importance of a family and a sense of togetherness? Every vacation when I visited home was like a festival in itself. The getting-together of family members, eating as a large group with incessant crackling of jokes and savoring the past reminiscence shared by every other person used to be the most cherished moment in my mind. And to be honest, I haven’t forgotten any of those vacations. It is those moments that shower strength when I am lying low and the wind is blowing south.

My point directs towards the theory of spending the most of your living time with the one’s you love and care. There may arrive a situation when you are in a quandary of choosing between family and career and mind you, both are important. It is then that you have to devise a plan that in the want of career, family is not long forgotten.  Life has no meaning if you have spent it in solitude, no matter how much wealth you have amassed. Like the famous quote “Live your life in such a way that when you die the world cries while you rejoice”, it revolves around the fundamental fact of being among loved ones.

A recent survey conducted by a very reputed channel revealed that more than half of Indian youngsters don’t want to live with their parents anymore after marriage (males and female included). This might be an individual’s decision to live their way but aren't we drifting away from our ancient values of being together. Aren't we violating the old adage that there should be a simultaneous sound of an infant’s squalling and hymn-chanting by elders at home? This may sound old-fashioned but it directs towards completeness. And to those who are living in the rocket-paced life with hardly a moment to breathe – in the moment of crises, it is the family who backs you and the firm which fires you. So the choice is yours.

One of my friends working for Housing  expressed the motto of his company that revolves around the idea of togetherness and completeness in a house. To be honest, it moved me questioning myself. It shook my brain reminding of my past  as how i have been spending my precious life (purposely or by force) without my family. Now that I am at the verge of completing my MBA and starting a fresh career, I have certainly made up my mind that no reason whatsoever is going to keep me away from my family. I want the same togetherness, long laughs and liveliness within those four walls.

You may be an excellent guitarist, but a symphony requires the whole band, doesn't it? Come closer to your family and loved ones, for their faces will matter more than the face of Gandhi shining on those shining Rs. 1000 notes.