I went home for holidays, wow what an experience. Now I am back, but can you really leave the memories behind. I think I have carried my experiences back with me, the memories of laughter and fun shared together. It is true that home is not where you live but where they understand you. No wonder that the trip to India even if it costed more than double than any other trip was worth every penny. Visiting your family is any day more precious than taking a trip to an exotic place as the love, affection and joy you receive from your family is unparalleled and is there a joy more than true sharing and caring? You feel at peace with your family, like this is where you really belong and you are cherished for what you are.

The long sit-downs with the cousins, sharing funny stories, moments of triumph and despair and many many mugs of chocolate mocha’s and cocktails in endless parties. The beautiful trip to the pink city of Jaipur, known for its ghumar dance and wonderful cuisine. The graceful camel and elephant rides in Chauki Dani complete with sumptuous meal of bajara roti and saag and mouth watering halwas. There was no dearth of tappy ghumar dances and one could step into the shoes of Rajputs to relax on the manjis (the beds used in villages of Jaipur) and live the life of a Rajput by wearing the dresses they wore, dancing like them and eating and relaxing like them. The warm hospitality by the entire family close as well as distant relatives was sweet to the heart and mind. They basically looked after us entirely with a affectionate balm that still is exuding its fragrance to our souls. It indeed felt like home where we could shed all our fatigue and relax and enjoy life without any inhibitions.

So this holiday season I went home, the place I really love and though my feet has left home but not my heart as it is still savoring the wonderful taste of having visited home. It is a wonder now that I took this place for granted and longed to step out of its loving boundaries to explore the unseen as the grass looked greener on the other side till you are there and find the same challenges and limitations follow you there.
Now I keep longing to go back. Yes this was the place that taught me to face the hurdles and life’s challenges with the weapons of values and morality. But is the learning enough or do I continue to need more hand holding and refresher course, I realise that there is a lot more to learn. So every time I visit home it is a novel experience as it continues to teach me new life’s lessons and bring a new fervor onto my life.

So already I am feeling home sick but have learned beautiful lessons that you can build your home anywhere when the foundations consist of love and friendship lit and warmed with an affectionate heart. This is a home that no other home even with a better wallpaper or dishwasher can hold a candle to. Can I give a price to a feeling that I have just been to a place where one can communicate freely with full confiding hearts without the fear of ridicule or dread of misunderstanding.