Ghar ghar jaisa joh banaye (Excerpts)

Mansi Yadav

Nani’s Swing in Kerala

There is a photo in my parents’ room in which the three of us are on a swing in Nani’s house in Kerala. I thought it was the trip when I was 1.5 years old and had broken a leg. So I asked mumma if this was the same trip and guess what she replied, “Nahi.” So basically, I have it all confused in my mind and that photo was actually when I was 3 to 4 months old!

But the point is that even if I look back today when I’m 20 years old that one swing holds a special place in my heart. It is bigger than all other details and facts. I guess it holds a special place in my life because that was the place where all cousins would gather after years as we all lived in different cities and countries and that was always special.

Our swing in Punjab

We shifted from Delhi to Punjab and we finally had our own swing apne hi ghar mein! On the roof - open mein ekdum. Mumma loves plants, so she kept some around that swing and that place was the most beautiful place on earth for me. Haan, hum holidays par jab jaye to beautiful new places, we might say that place is the best but if I have to talk about everyday life mein ek aisa place jo best hai toh it is that. Ludhiana house and our rooftop swing.

So at that time me and my younger sister were around the age of 10 or 11 and both my parents were working. They would warn us not to swing on that too much, or too hard –“Gir gaye toh lag jayegi”. So the moment they leave the house we would run up the staircase and sit on that swing and do our work. Even our friends loved that swing. But on weekends it was opposite, parents would sit or roam on roof and we both sat on the swing to study. And aisa nahi that I didn’t fall, I did, but still - we were kids toh bas we would get up and wapas baitho usi swing par!

Remembering and photos? Kya link hai?

And you know today we all are so busy ke haan we have to click photos, post about it, on IG but at that time it was opposite. That time we never had our phones and even our parents didn’t click itni photos but still remember that time like it was yesterday! Without photos. In 2020 I took photos of my nani and myself on that swing kyunki I wanted to keep it with me. Then I visited again this year and on my way there all I could think was “bas voh jhula aaj bhi ho -as it is”. And I was so happy seeing it there. This time it was just me, my sister, and nani but still that house and that swing became a safe place. We took photos but cant find any, but I remember it so well!

I want one in my house

We don’t have a swing in our house now. But it is something that I would want in my house. A corner with plants, a wooden swing similar to the one we had, and the sun shining through a nearby window, and me sitting there and cherishing those memories and making new ones, and above all it being there throughout that journey.

A swing makes a home even more like home.

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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.