EACH ONE IN HER SHELL

We all wear masks in life. A mask of being prim and proper at work or a mask of being a socialite in a party- these are all layers that hide the core. Call it entrapments of the social world that define or dictate how we should be in a situation or at a place. But the truth is that there is always a place or a space where we are ourselves. A place where we live and breathe without inhibitions and apprehensions of being judged.

The faint glimpses of this place in her mind were: a small piece of land traditionally enclosed with red brick walls. Aroma of freshly cooked rajma chawal, garish sound of the television, a male authoritative voice, a warm caressing touch, flowers in the garden and the incessant bark. She visualized herself coming back from school, studying for her exams, dancing at her sister’s wedding and sneaking back from a late night party.

No matter where she would go- place, geography and distance would not matter. She would always come back to this small piece of land traditionally enclosed with red brick walls. It was her shell where she would sleep like a child. It gave her the protection from the so called ‘big bad world’ out there. A fortress that gave her strength to face what the world had to offer. A fence from where she could easily distinguish between the pure and the tainted.

We all have this shell in our life where we get a feeling of security and protection. In this rat race of life, we all tend to go back to that shell. Sometimes to replenish our stock of strength and sometimes to hide from the ‘big bad world’.

Our shell which resembles a small piece of land traditionally enclosed with red brick walls – WELCOME HOME!