Aditi Rao in Himachal Pradesh. My home is a demon-goddess
“Time is not chronological for a young child.”
That’s Aditi Rao. In today’s piece. “On the one hand, I can draw exact floor plans of the house we lived in, recognise the bend in the highway leading up to it, show you which way my brother’s bed faced and which way mine. On the other hand, I look at photographs from my fifth birthday party and ask my mother “Who are these children? Did I know them, or did they just stop by for cake?”"
It is strange. Stuff you remember. Stuff you never forget, even though you absolutely could. Or should. And images and recollections in your head, of a time gone by, in quick, warm, bursting flashes.
Rao remembers her childhood days in fascinating detail. Of how her city-folk parents were building Riverbanks, a hotel in Chaudhan Meel (14 Kilometres). The Rao family lived in Manali in the early days of construction, and then at Chaudhan Meel. She remembers how her parents had unknowingly bought the land which belonged to a god called Jamlu Devta. Only fair, that he wasn’t happy. So Rao’s mother trekked all the way up the hills to meet him…But the family couldn’t complete Riverbanks. In 1992, the hotel changed hands. Got built. Went some distance, and then Jamlu Devta got what he wanted.
Rao’s piece is personal, poignant and it takes you into the world of faith, fate and the mysterious concept of a place called home.
Aditi Rao is a writer, teacher and potter. She is the founder of Tasawwur, an arts-for-social-change programme for teenagers in Delhi, the author of two collections of poetry, The Fingers Remember (2014) and A Kind of Freedom Song (2019), and the “happy” in HappyMess Ceramics.
This is Part III of our going home series. You can read the piece here: https://the-ken.com/story/my-
Enjoy your weekend. Write in, if you can spare the time. Share your story, if you must. I’d love to know more about you.
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