It was some four decades ago that my parents, after seeing some four dozen sites, identified one for our dream house. With an already built basement, it was situated in what was then considered to be a remote corner of Chennai.
Just before the start of the academic year we shifted to a rented house near the site where our house would be constructed. We five children and our parents were thrilled to live in beautiful and calm place away from the hustle and bustle of the city. This was neither a village nor a town, a developing locality with a number of empty house-sites around serving as a playground for different sports. Though the area was not noisy, we were disturbed by the landing and takeoff of commercial aircraft often. We climbed up the house and viewed the colour lights erected in rows along the runway, blinking red, blue, green and amber. Soon we got used to the locality and in a few days we had on our fingertips the arrival and take off timings of various national and international flights.
The parents chose an auspicious day to perform a puja and place the wooden door frame at the entrance ( vaasakkaal in Tamil). But our dream of constructing the house had to wait for four more years as a result of certain policy decisions by the Central government. For sure, my father, being a government servant, was transferred to different places but we stayed in the same place dreaming of our house while continuing our schooling.
All of us used to visit the basement of our future house with the entrance standing. Anybody could sit and play and chat there. We would also count the aircraft in the sky.
We were thrilled when my father was back in Chennai and the construction took off. The house was taking shape by the day. We also helped the labourers out by passing the bricks and so on. All this time we were dreaming that one day we might climb up to the terrace to see the blinking runway lights.
With lots of difficulty all the four walls were up. With minimum amenities we occupied the house that had only the front and back doors. The window spaces were filled with gunny bags to protect us from the rain and the sun. All this was to save on the rent.
At times we used to be wary of thieves entering through the windows, but that never happened. Without electricity supply we had to stay for six months reading and doing our homework in the dim light of kerosene lamps. When the monsoon rains started pouring the unfinished roofs started leaking and we stayed in tents under the roof.
For all the discomfort we had some funny moments. My brothers used to climb through the window and reach the terrace and shout with joy seeing the runway. But we girls were not allowed to climb up like that and we never dared too. My mother used to dream of the day when we would construct the stairs so we may go up there and dry clothes and also household things, and prepare and dry appalams and vadams.
The days moved fast as we started to concentrate on academics. The house was furnished gradually, but going up the terrace remained a dream during the student days.
We had very few guests at that time and they often commented on the long and tedious journey they had to make to reach our house by public transport. My mother then used to proudly say that this house is only for people who travel by air! See all my kids one day will travel to different destinations by flight and reach home in a few minutes after landing in airport, she would say. That was probably the bright side of our situation.
After my father’s retirement the house finally took shape and the dream of climbing up the staircase came true. The grandchildren of the family could run around there too. Of course, having grown up we no more seemed to enjoy the same visual treat of runways that we had earlier. Moreover, tall trees and buildings constructed in all the empty sites impeded the view. On the terrace, my mother dried clothes and of course made crispy vadam and appalams to carry back after the vacation.
When all three girls got scattered in different parts of the nation, my parents had also helped look after our kids. Even my brothers had to quit the house due to professional and personal reasons and give the house on rent.
A few years back I had a call from my brother that the airport was going to be expanded and probably they may be acquiring the area around our house. I imagined the red, blue, green and amber lights blinking right where our house stood. But I wish that will not happen in the dense residential locality of Chennai that is adjacent to Meenambakkam airport.
jayavet@gmail.com
