Feeling at Home

It is interesting to note how we give emotional and symbolic meanings to the things around us. How we store or associate certain feelings or memories in or within material objects, so you can experience it all over again at a later period through them.

What you associate those feelings with need not be objects; it could also be some activity. For instance, I am sure that every one of us has different rituals which we do after returning home after a long time away. It could be having your favourite dish made by your parents, or even taking a long shower with all your favourite scents! But what is common in all these is the homely feeling it gives you. It is the moment when the sweet realisation that "I am home" finally hits, and you relish in the feeling.

Lately, I noticed an intriguing fact from all my recent trips back home. It has to do with a book I read every time I am home. I had started reading that book a considerable while back and resumed from where I left off on each visit. The strange thing was that I could usually finish reading a book in a few days, but not this one. And that is until I realised that I was consciously dragging it out so that I could keep reading it on my next visit and the next. It could also be why the thought of taking it back to my hostel never sat well with me!

Being a Malayalam one, the book also carried deep emotional significance for me. I mostly read English books, but when I read Malayalam books, it connects me with the other readers in my family, especially my mother and my grandmother. Because they don't read English books, it is only when I read Malayalam books that I can have enriching discussions on books with them. It almost feels like our own women's book club!

The other reasons as to why this particular book felt home to me could be a topic for another day when I review the book. Nonetheless, it is always enlightening to discover the little things we do that make us human. So, what is your little homely ritual?