My trip to India is about to end and I think I almost had a life changing experience, I went back to my parental house in a semi-urban town, Rohtak in Haryana. The city or its infrastructure, or lack of it is not my point here. My point is my visit to the place where I was 1st taken straight out of the hospital. Place which has housed four generations of my family.
It is a typical old style house located in a not so good area of the city, it’s a house my great grandfather bought when he immigrated from Pakistan and when Haryana was part of Punjab state. I was there only for few hours, reaching at night and leaving next noon. The memories that I was rushed with were just mind blowing. From my visits to the my grandda’s house, to how each holiday would mean a lot of fun . Memories of us playing cricket, visions, of my uncle playing ping pong and flying kite and other pity stuff. But what I was amazed to remember was a figure of my great grandfather, who I only remember as a white clothed figure bringing something from the market as I was crawling, yes I remember I was crawling. Then it went on to small visions of us playing and watching TV. Mind you TV sets those days were rather rare. Then I went up stairs, and did what I always did, climbed next door, to out neabiour and my dad’s aunt house, they still live there, I saw many things that are still there, still been used the same way ( a chair I always had a fancy for, I don’t know why though.) then what came to me was my grandfather’s death and how he passed away in a Sikh temple on a rather regular day during a very regular visit. I felt weird that this no frills old fashioned and really unwanted house could hold so much to me, especially considering that fact that I was not really keen on going there, but it was my dad and fact that his aunt and uncle still lived there had me go there at least once to see them.
As I was watching telly late nite, I got up and walked out, looked up and I saw what was a long shaft in between the two ‘parts’ of the house. You can see the 1st floor, now no one lives there, my dads uncle who used to has moved down. But it made me realize how far I have gone.. what distance has been traveled in past 22 years. It also gave taught me that there always is a big picture and that maybe the small things doesn’t matter now, it all fits, like small pieces of puzzle one may have and I need to go back to this weird place and I would actually understand it all. Also the news is that maybe this house would be sold soon and my dad’s uncle would move out to a much better city. So maybe this was my last visit to this house. None the less, the lessons are learnt, the thoughts and the memories will remain. Like Rabbi Shergill in one of his songs wrote, jaddo na kuch agge disse, tavi banda vekhe peeche” meaning that if a nothing can be seen ahead of us, its time we look back.”
