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From The Navhind Times Treasuring the Memories By Cedric Silveira MY uncle from Canada had decided to sell off the house he owned in Goa, as age was catching up with him and he entertained no hopes of his children ever coming to the state. The work involved in cleaning the house, repairing the electric fixtures and other daily chores left him exhausted and in urgent need for yet another holiday after the so-called holiday in Goa. The flying time to India takes almost 16 hours and that coupled with the fear of developing deep vein thrombosis besides aggravating other ailments which he already possessed left him no option but to sell his possessions in Goa. Parting with your belongings is always a sad experience. After having them in your possession for years, to see them go to another is quite distressing. Some items were presented by family members, while others by close friends at various occasions and events, the memories of which were still fresh in his mind. All the same, my uncle started giving away and selling the crockery, cutlery, linen, furniture and other items in quick time. However, when all his belongings started to disappear, he still clung on to a set of old curtains which his late wife had so carefully stitched. I seemed amused at his fondness for a set of curtains whilst he had parted with much dearer items. I asked him the reason for this attachment. He then told me something very touching which I will always treasure. The curtains were first used in his Mumbai flat before they migrated to Canada soon after marriage. Once out there, they rented a small flat and had put up those very curtains. Later on as they changed residences but the first thing that his wife would do was to fix those curtains on arrival to their new home. “My wife knew how much I missed India and wished to remove some of the strangeness of having to live in a new country,” he said. I pondered on my uncle’s remarks for a while and it seemed to make sense. My aunt in her own little way was just trying to make a house of bricks and stones into a real home away from home by putting something familiar in it.
