Thursday 18 June 2009

Home

Home is a word that we come across quite frequently in our everyday routine. The computer has a 'home' page, websites have 'home' which signify the first page of the site where primary information is given and ofcourse the 'home' which is the place where we stay, feel comfort and warmth and come back after a hard day's work. But what makes the 'home'? This is a question that has been niggling my thoughts for quite some time. Home for the exiles, the displaced and the refugess take on a very emotional note. Home for the students who are away in foreign lands is a fond memory comprising of mamma's cooking and the familiar TV making its regular noise. Home for the animals is their natural habitat where they are free and have plenty of food.

But what does the word mean? Is it the place where we stay in the present or a place that we were born or a place wherever we can find comfort and security. The word 'home' has come to mean different things in today's context where idioms like 'home away from home' have become very commonplace. If we are born in India and settled in Africa -- what is our home? India? Africa? If the answer is India then are we familiar with its geography and topography? If the answer is Africa, then how legitimate is that.

The concept of 'Here There Everywhere' somehow seems very shallow as it establishes being lost without being rooted. But what is being rooted in this century where migration has become the norm. Can we migrate and yet be rooted by becoming familiar with the landscape that we are part of. This is what the bioregionalists assert.

What is our home? What do we consider as our home? Do we ever stop to think of all these different aspects of the simple word that has become an overused part of our daily vocabulary?

2 comments:

  1. I feel 'home' does not necessarily be the place u were born, home is whereever u feel welcoming, whereever u feel u belong to...can u really call the place u were born 'home' when u visit it after years living in a different part of the world and experience a reverse culture shock?

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  2. Yes Ann. You are right. Most of us are not in the place where we were born. But I guess the place remains in us deep inside. Home is definitely where the heart is.

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