A “flight of steps’ of one’s own

Pranjali

I have never been able to fit in a chair, at least not in a way that one is supposed to. My entire school life I struggled to remain seated and still. At home, a chair was almost always a table and a table, frequently something to sit on. I would be found reading, writing, painting or daydreaming half hanging off the edge of the bed.

Only in my college hostel life, I discovered my comfort space – a flight of steps. Often with friends, but mostly by myself, that is where I felt at ease with my body. Be it the stairs in the hostel, the steps outside the academic buildings, steps around the open air amphitheatre, I had found a structure where my body could freely lean, twist, turn and rest.

When I first moved into a rented apartment, not surprisingly, I brought no chairs. Assuming it to be a common demand at a furniture store, i set out to buy a flight of steps for myself from Munirka. I was, of course, disappointed in this quest, so i exhaustively researched this subject on the internet, learnt architectural vocabulary related to stairs and steps – treader, riser etc., designed a model and went back to get a wooden ‘flight of steps’ made for myself.

Having being laughed at before, at the mere suggestion of this request , I was quite happy that this time the salesperson was merely confused. He made me speak with the carpenter who, confirmed thrice with me that is this indeed what I wanted and whether I wanted it for storage. Until then, I hadn’t thought about the storage factor, or whether a detached ‘three step’ furniture would support my weight at all. But to make it seem a more normal request, I agreed that I did need it for storage. But the storage factor added to the complexity of the design and therefore the price. As a young student back then , these new additions were outside my budget, but more than that, not the design I was looking for. Having engaged the carpenter for so long in this discussion, I felt I needed to now get something made. I altered the 1 by 3 feet steps drawing of a flight of steps into an open bookshelf and finally left the shop.

I don’t know why I never went back to get the ‘flight of steps’ made again, maybe I thought there would always be stairs and steps to relax on. Until the pandemic hit, and confined to my room, I regretted that decision. The bookshelf that I had got made instead, stood as a reminder of what this could have been, a space for rest and movement and a furniture that I could fit in.

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Objects of Our Affection is a series exploring our connections to the furniture and objects that make our spaces home. Through stories of tables, chairs, and that odd-shaped thing only you love, we celebrate the inanimate pieces that hold memory and witness our lives.

If you'd like to contribute your own story to this series, we'd love to hear from you. Micro-essays, poems, reflections, and fragments welcome. Write to us at hellothadi@gmail.com. Word limit 400.