Heritage

An elderly lady came to my place and asked my Ma, “You should change your vintage furniture. Aren’t your children demand for some posh looks?”

My Ma humbly replied, “They don’t want to change anything in the house. They say it’s their heritage.”

I was proud she uttered that. And the irony was the elderly lady had no room in her rather her so-called ‘son’s house’.

Yes you should dispose off the worn out stuff and if you happen to make your dream house, plan accordingly. But it’s about personal choices. You may be having a happy life on a scooter and your neighbor may not be in his SUV. If you are happy, stay so. It doesn’t matter whether you are living in a bungalow or at a hovel. And the best part is such elderly ladies are in every neighborhood leading a confused life and yet trying to make others feel fragile.

At times I miss my paternal grandparents when I see my friends living with theirs. I didn’t even see mine. But then I am blessed that I am living under the roof which was built under their surveillance. I am blessed we rode on the Ambassador which saw the tides of time. We still have the car safe…that is our vintage car. Today people hire interior designers to pick up antique pieces for their sophisticated apartment. But we are lucky our ancestors did that for us.

We do have a 29” TV but nothing can beat the color television which was bought by my grandmother. No remote yet attractive. I grew up watching those beautiful pigeons housed in a big cage with an open door. We have a courtyard with a little garden. Our terrace has a flag post too. Earlier people used to celebrate National Days rather than having National Holidays.

I live in a city, I write but now we have a cool designation, say, ‘blogger’, but I don’t want to change few little things in my life. Yes I am a human being and I too love glitterati but not at the cost of losing stuff that belonged to my grandparents. This is nothing emotional but it’s a matter of inheritance. I love that feeling when I touch the worn out walls of my building or ride on that Ambassador or get water from that decades old well.

In near future, we will definitely renovate our home. Not to bring in classy stuff but to strengthen it for another 70 years and more. New colors will be in, latest gadgets will ease life and a sparkling car will be bought for the convenience of the older generation. But every attempt will be made to keep every piece of memory of my grandparents alive as a blessing. Afterall this is what our actually heritage is!