Some houses are not homes, they just become houses because the family members are not allowed to laugh freely, make noise, do as they please, eat and sleep wherever they want. They cannot even think about moving things around according to their own wishes. They only get a certain amount of space, where they have to spend their time. Children living in these houses do not get to do art on the walls, try to eat something with their own little hands and be happy by making messes all over the place. Toys are scattered from room to yard. When something valuable breaks, they hug the child and talk to him without caring about the things.
In such houses, guests also have to behave like puppets. As long as they are invited, they have to make their presence felt within that time. During that time, they have to live according to the orders of the mistress of the house. They get the right to just look at everything in the house, but if someone touches it, they have to fall victim to the proverb, “They never seem to have seen anything.” Moreover, in these houses, siblings have to follow their children so much that they never feel that they have come to their siblings’ house with their child. The constant surveillance on them makes it seem as if they have come to a museum. The condition of parents is also not very comfortable in these houses. They also touch everything by asking about it. They accept the risk of falling, but they don’t touch the wall so that later they don’t have to hear that oily hands have splashed on the white walls or pickle stains have appeared.
They too start considering themselves as just decorative objects in the house.
Those who live in such houses are deprived of emotions. Children in houses are always afraid. They cannot invite any of their friends to their house because they know that living openly in their house is prohibited. If something goes wrong while eating or drinking, the bitter words of the parents will snatch the morsel that has gone into their mouth. They stay in the house on play dates in selected parks, clubs, pubs, as if someone has rented it, for a few years and then when they get wings, they fly away so that they never return to this prison.
No one is allowed to live in such houses. Not even those who have built these houses themselves. They themselves live in a designated space and the rest of the space is their show.
It doesn’t take a lot of wealth and fame to make a house a home. What is needed in relationships is warmth, love, respect, and the freedom to live life, each person according to their own nature.
Vijay Garg Retired Principal Educational Columnist Malout Punjab |
