I haven’t owned any piece of real estate in my life. I do intend to, but I just haven’t gotten down to it. My parents, on the other hand, have meticulously invested in real estate through their life and now, are building that long-dreamt-of house in Kerala. With her typical resourcefulness, my mum would mail me the house layout plans, call me from Delhi and chat animatedly about which plan looked better? a, b or c? as far as i was concerned they all looked the same to me. I still went along with the talk, not particularly moved by the thought of a new house. I was preoccupied with Mumbai, work and other mundane stuff. Till I visited the site a week back after landing in Palakkad. The house isnt going to be ready till March next year but still, walking through the plot as the workers went about their work and listening to my mom talking about what she had planned for each corner, I had this sense of a new beginning, a new place to call home. I could imagine coming home to this place in the holidays. Most Mallus talk about building a house in Kerala, many of them do so, too. But my parents had always seemed to be different. They were fond of their annual trips back to Kerala but liked the convenience of their Delhi life, something they didnt seem inclined towards trading off.
In the last one year, though, their plans seem to have changed and they’ve been talking of renting out the Delhi apartment and moving to Kerala. The house here has a beautiful view of the western Ghats, from the terrace, and is located in a quiet serene neighbourhood (at least for now)
I’m not sure if they will actually do it, but suspect that once the house is ready, relocating may be too tempting a prospect. It’s their decision, of course, but I worry that they may not adjust to life in Kerala after having spent close to 40 years in Delhi. They have their friends, their circle of acquaintances, their routine and re-adjusting your life at 60 isn’t the most practial thing, perhaps. Anyways, they haven’t made up their minds yet so…
I’ve never been attached to Delhi, though I grew up and studied college there. Yet, a part of me feels sad about losing that part of my childhood when they do decide to relocate. Crap, I am contradicting myself. Nonsensical emotional stuff…
Tags: Getting old, Kerala, Palakkad
