There is no place like home

The look of the place, the smell of it, every corner of this place is so very familiar, so very known; they are so close to the heart, because there is no place like home.

It has been a long time I have been away from this place, which hold a very special place in my heart. In fact it has been too long. Someone once told me that, when you return home, to your city, to where you reside, after a long time, it is then you understand how beautiful it truly is. Yesterday I realized how true this statement is. As the flight started to descend below the clouds, giving a bird’s eye view of the city, which looked like it had dressed up for a special occasion, I realized something. Kolkata had never looked this beautiful to me before, as if I was seeing it for the first time, in brand new way.

Here’s the funny thing, when a plan is about to touch down, I do not know if anyone ever pays attention to this or not, but for about ten odd seconds it keeps hovering inches above the ground, as if to tease you. I have never really noticed this detail, but yesterday it gave me a funny feeling in my tummy. And about the moment the wheels touched the ground, believe me for I am not kidding, my heart skipped a beat. There was a lump in my throat. I was home. I guess these are a few things that just happen, it is not a feeling you need to try and get.

It is funny how things in your home stay exactly the way they were, no matter how long you have been away from it. It is amazing how we take no time to get comfortable, and settle back in. And it truly amazes me how the food you get at home is always better than anything you have tasted. Does not matter if you have been to the best of restaurants, stayed in the best of suits, when you come home and get to lie down in your own bed, and your mother feeds you homemade rice and meat, there is no place on earth you rather be.

The beauty of the place we call home is, I guess, almost impossible to define.

It is a place which is there for you, like a friend, always waiting with its arms wide open.

It is somewhere you find peace and solace.

Truly, there is no place like home.