A trip to my hometown.

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I was in my hometown for the last two days to spend some time with the people there. Hitherto whenever I happened to come here I stayed at my brother's home due to their love and affection despite having my own house that stands closed in my absence for months.    
                                ***
         In fact this house is the same one which my father had built with his hard earned money.
            I along with all my siblings had spent our childhood days in this house only.     
          After the death of my father incidentally a ‘part’ of this house fell into my share upon partition reached amicably amongst ourselves. This truncated ‘part’ was sought to give a look of ‘full’ by way of necessary renovations & modifications. But despite such renovations and modifications which made it look attractive I didn't stay in this house of ‘mine’ even for a single day for reasons stated above. All that I did was only to visit my house for a few hours and thereafter return to my brother's place. 
                                ***
         During every round of such a visit to my house I didn't fail to notice that my house was not happy with me. I realised that whenever I opened the door to move around in the campus and rooms for some hours and then to lock it in the course of returning from there it gave me a notion that the house wanted to say something.
 As if it said- “why do you come here for a few minutes when you can't spend even a night here? I just don't want to be ‘inspected’ by you as an ‘owner’. Don't ‘inspect’ me as a boss; You have not built me. Don't forget that it was your father who had built me with love and affection. Come to live here as his son not as an owner. I want to love you and get loved and cared for in return. So do spend some weeks with me. If it is not possible for you,cease coming here.” 
I realised my mistake and told him- Dear! You are right. I realise my folly. Your complaint is a genuine one. Next time when I come,I will stay here only and do the needful to that end. 
                              *** 
             So this time the purpose of the journey was also to convert my ‘house’ into ‘home’. The day chosen for the same was ‘Basant Panchami’. 
I hold for the valid reason the view that so long as the kitchen room of any house is not functional it's not fit to be called a ‘home’.
                For this my wife had come here a week ago to do the needful towards that.The first and foremost thing was to make the kitchen functional which became so on this auspicious occasion of Saraswati Pooja. We bought a photo of the Goddess framed in a small casing and worshipped Her. We prayed to the Goddess to seek her blessings. My wife cooked ‘Bari-Bhat’(बड़ी-भात), Alloo-Matar Dam(आलू-मटर का दम) and Tarua(तरूआ) of different types of vegetables including potatoes. 
We had called all my Brothers & Bhaujis and nephews living in the neighbourhood on this occasion to dine together at my place.
                       ***
Because of the things beyond my control I can't remain here beyond a day or two until I retire. My ‘house’ turned ‘home’ also realized my difficulty but I promised him that my wife would keep on coming to stay for some weeks every month here only instead of my brother's place. Towards this assurance this time my wife would stay here only before she returns after a week or so.
                           ***
Today I am on the train in the course of my return journey to resume my duty. My seat number in the coach is 29. Incidentally no luggage was with me save the newspaper I had bought at the platform while waiting for the train to arrive.
I was napping when the TTE approached and asked me- Is this seat yours?
The way he woke me up and asked the question left me a bit annoyed. 
I woke up to reply with a certain amount of irritation driven harshness-Yes; of course this seat is none else but 'mine'.
Some hours later the train reached the destination where I too was to alight. The train has the single rake and for that matter the train would use the same rake for its return journey which was to start shortly.
No sooner had the train stopped at the destination platform than one stranger came to me to 'inform'- Sir, please vacate; this seat is 'mine'.
Soon I realised that it was a mistake to suppose the said seat mine. I was only the temporary holder of this seat for using the same for a limited period. 
A few hours later it became someone else's. 
No one in this world is the owner, be it a house or property or position or merely a seat of the coach! 
                  All are users only. 
The real owner is none else but ‘He’.
R.R.Prabhakar.
04.02.2025. 

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