Home is where the heart is: An article by Jayashree Bhattacherjee

It was J. H.Payne who composed and sang "Home sweet home, There is no place like home" when he himself had no home, no roof above his head to give him shelter and protection. The home literally means a construction which one builds for shelter and protection. In modern time the term 'home' has much deeper connotation than walls and roof. The great sentiment is attached to it. "Home is where the heart is ". A man carefully and painstakingly builds his home to establish his happiness there with his near and dear ones. Home now means much more than a residential place. It means a place of warmth and comfort, a place that the heart cherishes forever. As Anton Chekhov puts it, 'At home one has to do with people whom one unreasonably loves, and love is exacting.... '. At home, one gets all the physical and mental comfort needed, all the warmth, love and affection. Home does not necessarily mean just four walls and a roof. It can be any affordable place built with love and care. A perfect idealistic home is built and created by a family not with their money as the prime factor, but with their relationship of affection, concern, love, and trust, the roof and the walls merely serve as a shelter. It not only takes time and effort but also the more difficult task of sustaining the bond of love and affection. Whenever unpleasant things crop up in life, it is the only refuge that provides hope, comfort, trust, shelter, support, and solace.

If every brick of the wall is laid with affection and love, then only the heart can be there, then only it can be called a home, a perfect place to reside. In an ideal home, the family members rise above petty selfishness, preserve the values of the household, sacrifice and inculcate a feeling of charity. No materialistic building solely makes a home as it requires a special sentiment and attachment of the family members to constitute a home. In a true 'home'  every member's heartbeats together in harmony. Who can expect such motherly affection, kindness and generosity, fatherly guidance and grandparental pampering anywhere other than home? A home' can be given the connotation only if the structural element contains the joy of life within it. Home is a place to unwind, a place to feel secure, a place where the inhabitants long to return after the day's work and pour their heart out. There is no substitute for a home which constitutes a beautiful tranquil place and makes one truly feel 'at home '. 'East or West, home is the best'. Even shattered mud walls with basic amenities can constitute a home if there is a feeling of positive emotion and warmth in it. A proper house suited best to the wishes and comforts of its residents is one of the greatest institutions in the world.