A place built with love and dreams

One often hears the expression ‘homely feeling’. Somewhat akin to that is the other expression, ‘to feel at home’. Both indicate a sense of feeling comfortable, and relaxed; at peace, and in harmony, with one’s company and surroundings. No matter where one goes, either in search of adventure, to fulfill professional demands, or to discharge an obligation to friends, or relatives, one always longs to return to the comfort and warmth of one’s home. It is an instinct common to all living creatures

“Big pleasures and palaces though we may roam,

Be it ever so humble, there is no place like home”

Thus, goes the stanza from the evergreen song “Home, Sweet home”, a melody composed by Sir Henry Bishop, with lyrics by John Howard Payne.

Significantly enough, the song was banned from being played, in the Union Army during the American Civil War, as being too reminiscent of one’s home and family, and likely to incite desertion. Known by the name ‘Hanyü no Yado’ in Japan, it also figured in some movies. In the movie ‘King and I’, for example, the character Anna Leonowens Lionel, played by the yesteryear sensation Deborah Kerr, teaches her students to sing it, as part of a campaign, to persuade King Mongkut, of Siam, (now Myanmar), played by the inimitable Yul Brynner, to build her a house of her own.

The word home has always been associated with a sense of belonging and security. Which is the reason why a place where one is happy with the surroundings is also called ‘a home away from home’. American physician and poet, said, “where is the love his home, home the feet may leave, but not our hearts”. Echoing an identical sentiment, the celebrated American philosopher, Ralph Waldo Emerson, said, “a house is made with walls and beams; a home is built with love and dreams”.

One often hears the expression ‘homely feeling’. Somewhat akin to that is the other expression, ‘to feel at home’. Both indicate a sense of feeling comfortable, and relaxed; at peace, and in harmony, with one’s company and surroundings. No matter where one goes, either in search of adventure, to fulfill professional demands, or to discharge an obligation to friends, or relatives, one always longs to return to the comfort and warmth of one’s home. It is an instinct common to all living creatures. Pigeons, for instance, unerringly return to the place which they call home. Called ‘homing pigeons’, they are trained to fly home from great distances, and were used by the British military, for the purpose of communications in war time. According to the Holy Bible, the first message-bearing pigeon was loosed by Noah; twice, as a matter of fact, to bring back the news, after its second sortie, that the flood waters had receded, a conclusion Noah drew from the freshly plucked olive leaf in the beak of the pigeon.

The word home also has an emotional connotation, in the context of one’s homeland. In the epic ‘Ramayana’, the battle with Ravana has been concluded victoriously. Lord Rama, his consort Sita, brother Laxmana, disciple Hanuman, and others, are preparing to leave for home. In response to Laxmana’s suggestion, that the stay in Lanka might be prolonged a little longer, Rama tells Laxmana: “Janani Janmabhoomischa Swargadapi Gareeyasi” Mother and motherland are superior even to heaven.

Even in the arena of sports and games, the word ‘home’ plays an important role. A cricket team, for example, enjoys considerable advantage when playing on its own ground. That is the reason why winning an ‘away’ series is considered that much more of an achievement. The word ‘home’ is used in other connotations as well. For example, ‘driving home’ or ‘bringing home’, a point, means to make something perfectly clear or to state something in a forceful, and effective, manner. The word can sometimes have an undesirable ring, as when it is used in the expression ‘to be near’ or ‘close to’, home indicating that a remark is making people feel uncomfortable, upset as it concerns a sensitive or personal matter.

Governments of several countries also have ministries of ‘home’, which deal with internal affairs. In the course of my 78 years I have stayed in close to 30 houses although, perhaps, not all of them can be called ‘homes’! The sizes, the surroundings, and the facilities available, not to mention the help provided, spanned a considerable range, from a small 800 ft.² two bedroom apartment in Begumpet, Hyderabad, to the sprawling Dutch Bungalow, that was the residence of the District Collector, of Krishna district, at Machilipatnam.

My earliest memory is of the house in which I was born, a compact and cozy two storied construction, conveniently located in the area of (the then) Madras, Mylapore which served the needs of our family, more than adequately for over twenty years. It was from that house that my career in the entertainment field started beginning with participation in the radio programmes of the children’s organisation called Andhra Balananda Sangham, and moving on to acting in movies in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi languages over a period of three years. We then moved to a larger house, in Lloyds Road, where we spent a couple of years before the formation of the Andhra state which was culled out of the erstwhile composite Madras state.

We later shifted to Guntur where the newly formed High Court of Andhra state was established. That was when learnt to ride a bicycle. I was able to ride on my own until I reach my school but, after that, I needed help to get off! People still remembered my child star days, and quite frequently, waved and whistled when they spotted me in public, much to my parents’ embarrassment.

Soon, thereafter, the Andhra Pradesh State was formed, comprising the Telugu speaking regions from the Madras and we Nizam’s Hyderabad states. The Andhra High Court moved on to Hyderabad to merge with the new Andhra Pradesh High Court. New to the Hyderabadi culture, as I was, I had to learn many things, including that I had to wear footwear to school! Our family next moved to New Delhi, following a decision by father to try his hand at practising in the Supreme Court after retirement. I studied for three years for an Honours degree mathematics in Hindu College. I recall an amusing incident from those times. Our neighbour was a Sikh gentleman, with two daughters and a son. One day, my mother was waiting for me to return house, at the gate, to the entrance of our house. So was the Sardarji. As they got to talking, about this and that, our neighbor, apparently, remarked that mother, having two children, had less to worry, about the safety of her son, than he did! I still recall the outrage, and fury, I had to face, on returning home, following that rather tactless statement of our esteemed neighbour.

One memory I treasure, from those days, is that of the Nawab of Pataudi, Mansoor Ali Khan, visiting the college to have spot of practice at the nets. A few days later he participated in a friendly match and hit huge sixes, to which ever part of the ground the roaring crowd was cheering from! And ‘Pat’ played all those shorts while still recovering from an eye surgery he had just had!

Living in the capital city was a heady and rewarding experience, what with the frequent glimpses one caught of celebrities from different walks of life including politicians, sportspersons and visiting foreign dignitaries. The occasional invitation to a cocktail party, at some of the hundred odd embassies of different countries, was an added bonus. And watching cricket matches at the hallowed Ferozeshah Kotla grounds, including being witness to Sunil Gavaskar scoring his historic record-breaking 29th century, in test cricket, was the icing on the cake.

Here is a story to end this piece on a lighter note.

There was this man who came home, after really tying one on, with his cronies, in a popular bar.

“What do you mean”, his wife asks him, “coming home half drunk”?

And the man replies, “I ran out of money!”.

(The writer is formerly Chief Secretary, Government of Andhra Pradesh)