A visit home ~

Dil dhoondta
hai phir wahi , fursat ke raat din.....

This song from the film Mausam ( 1975) sung by Bhupinder and penned down by the great Gulzar talks about what seems like a by gone era. It talks about the idyllic and leisurely days when one could lie down on the green grass and stare at the open blue skies. In today's time and the hustle -bustle of the busy lives we lead, the song has lost it's meaning more than ever. We all yearn for days where we could go back to a life where days could be as idyllic and perfect as described in the song.
Whenever I think of such 'fursat ke raat din' I always think of my original home , my parents' place where I spent a good deal of my growing up years. Life was so simple, devoid of worries and troubles, where you always had all your problems taken care of and you got the feeling of being on a never ending vacation.
Today, I cannot even fathom a life like that. Not that life has thrown any stones in my path ( for which I'm grateful) but it does come with it's own challenges and battles .
 Recently I was able to go back to my sanctuary, my parents place for a short vacation and after a long time I was able to spend some good quality time with my entire family . It was only then that I realised the meaning of this song in it's real sense, feel and savour each moment to it's fullest. The best part of being home is the fact that you don't have any deadlines to meet and the days start and end without your even realising it, the mind is free and uncluttered and you feel totally at peace with your surroundings :)
My hometown, Allahabad , is a small , sleepy town and you experience a change of pace the moment you set foot there. My parents home, a huge bungalow with sprawling lawns and a big, spacious 'aangan' adds to the old world charm . The garden very lovingly tended to, by my mother is anyday better than any resort and all I can say is ' There is no place like home ' :)

The first thing I did there was to stop glancing at the clock. I did'nt care when I woke up and when I slept and that was the biggest luxury I could gift myself. I did not watch any television at all and that was such a great feeling...I never felt the need to do so. I just ate, slept, read some books from my small library that I had created as a child and teenager ( I still love my Agatha Christie collection there ), spent good time with family, caught up with old school friends, went to my favourite eating joints, bumped into familiar faces , shopped stuff for myself ( I still love to go shopping there) that I had been procrastinating for a long, long time, kept nagging my mom to make 'this and that' for breakfast, lunch and dinner  along with the umpteen cups of tea , feasted on all the great bakes that my sister in law specialises in, went for a lovely and relaxing facial with friends, indulged in some sight seeing ( the same old places I like to see when I'm there ) and had a whale of a time. I did'nt have to worry about my kids since I knew they were well looked after, did'nt care about cooking , cleaning, laundry and the works. Never once had to bother about what to cook for lunch or dinner . I think this is the best break or relief I could have given myself and could actually feel the 'fursat ke raat din' lyrics echoing in my mind constantly. Bliss!
Take a look at some pictures of my home and hometown, the perfect place for relaxation, the perfect place to unwind, recharge your batteries and the perfect place where you can experience the lovely moments of nothingness that mean the whole world after you are through with it :)






The Alamandas fluttering in the breeze.

Mom's special ability of growing flowers anywhere and everywhere :)

Th swing that holds happy memories of our childhood . Well, some not so happy ones too. I fell down from it once and hurt my head badly when I was a kid .

The bottle brush tree that has the most perfectly jutting out branch along with the Monstera climbing up along it's trunk.

Baskets that hang from every tree .

A small sit out in the verandah where tea tastes like never before :)

The grape chandelier that always welcomes you every time you enter the porch.

The canopy on the metal frame right in the middle of the garden is my favourite outdoor location.

Tea, that is served almost every hour :)

Mom's garden always yields some lovely harvests. This time it was the sweet tasting bananas :)

Amaltas trees in full bloom opening their yellow hearts to all and sundry .

The beautiful creepers with the sweet, intoxicating fragrance .

Bamboos and money plants overlooking mom's kitchen garden .

A place where you find yourself face to face with some strange creepy crawlies .

 Home made goodies that I brought along with me too .

My Agatha Christie books that I can never tire reading .

  Our living room there with the red oxide floors which only opens for the guests :)

A lovely day at Sangam ...

During a boat ride.

That's the fort .
So, those were snippets from my home visit. I am back totally rejuvenated and fresh and ready to take on the world. The best part is... there are still some daysleft for my kids to resume school after Summer holidays , so still time to go back to the grind.
Hope you liked my sleepy little hometown and my original home . This is where my roots lie. This is a place where I grew up, did my schooling and college. This is the place that's been instrumental in making me the person I am and I am proud to be associated with it and this is truly a place where I'd always love to be whenever my heart yearns for those 'fursat ke raat din ' :)