Home and Family series 002

Home - 002

All humans seek a Shelter, a Home to rest in and recoup daily after all the work is done. It is not just a  "Concrete Space" but a loving, sacred space that we live & spend the best part of our Lives. It thus becomes the most special place on Earth for one's family like a little Oasis or Heaven really. 
As they say "Be it ever so humble, there is no place like Home".

Sharing this note on my experience in Family &  house construction really as the  Home Making are possibly two most important things that a couple viz. a husband & wife jointly take on in Grihasta ashram. 
Even nature flora and fauna all agree here. (LOL) and Birds and Bees.
It may possibly not quite realised in many circles, but Home Making  is without doubt, one of the keys to Happy Living and this is done by both husband and wife  and not just one partner. It is also an enjoyable and very special part of our adult life, that we share with a spouse.

Sharing Memories on our  our House:
"Mahalakshmi" with Plants & Trees  and Home for 32 years.

There is  old desi (seen in many regional languages too) which can be translated as: "Build a House and also marry off your Children nicely. 
Then you will have seen what Life is really" 
Yes, an absolute truth  . We came here in end 1978- saw these vacant, but desolate road end  Approved plots. With 5 other buyers it was settled together;Same seller  for the end of the road plots but the Catch 22 for a low price was these end plots were on a blind road and our ground  tapered  7 feet below main road level so we had  fill in earth , then construct a road and get a pucca road laid to get a building sanction and many other hurdles. After endless delays it was finally approved as we had a clear and concise building plan as per guidelines. We had run into red tape delays for a long time and finally took  Vrata ; We offered prayers, vowed to  name the house "  Mahalakshmi" ( Mangesh-Mahalakshmi means Shiv Shakti), after our family  Guardian Deity. 
 It was  finally approved / cleared in March 1980 and so a ground floor 2 BHK House was built in just about 7 months. Finally when the construction  was over, one last hurdle was left to also search for an electricity cable as the Dept said we have no supply ! Fortunately with some helpful links  managed to get our electricity connection; mind you in the heart of a city, such bureaucracy !. Some kind people had also  helped us and so it was finally ready on 22nd Sept 1980,  completed.So we moved in. Thank you God----That was 32 years ago!!   
Deepa my daughter was 4, Vikram my son was just 5 months old  when we moved in . Many years later, my Grandson Keshav was born on 22nd September 2000, which is remarkable coincidence. We were the only family here and lived in a desolate, lonely place with snakes &mongooses often crawling in from Adyar estaury, even into our compound. I had to avoid  trying out a grass lawn after a close encounter. This area is adjacent to protected open vacant eco spaces.
 It was bare open ground with a seperation wall,  where our approved govt sanctioned plot / house stands and adjacent to Adyar Estuary and Theosophical Society is on other side of the river. 

 Many felt I had been totally crazy to have purchased this lonely end plot.
However we managed peacefully and happily, despite setbacks.
God Protects

                               Our house "Mahalakshmi"

GARDENING

WE began with planting abt. Rs 600/- worth of  40 plants, inc. 2 Frangipani saplings and also 5 Bougainvillas, a Guava tree, a Pomegranate (later fell in a storm)  and 2 coconut saplings which perished. We replanted anew and now yield 150 coconuts every 4 months, which we gratefully distribute at local Temples, all on just a small patch of  2600 sqft of land on which our house was built

Around  1992, we planted 18 Saplings with EXXNORA on our road.

WE now have avenue trees lining this  road. 

Rgds 

TR  

                                 Scene we saw in 1978

                         House occupied. pic taken in 1982

                                     Yellow Gul mohar planted - some how maintained

Plant a Tree

From Sringeri Math

Trees are noble -they bear the brunt of the hot sun but yet  give others ...all anyone shade, fruits & flowers, prevent soil erosion (in floods control).

Even when cut it gives warmth and shelter as fuel or building material.

So our ancients call a tree  Vriksha Kalpa viz tree treasure.

The Peepul  & Neem tree are often planted side by side as Shiva -Shakti -they grow and branches entwine with one another-- Temples are builts beneath this in the South .

Definitions of home
Where you lived at a particular time; an environment offering affection and security, home is where the heart is, there's no place like home; but possibly this says it most-wher you come to rest in peace and quiet ina safe shelter after a days hard work and toil.