The House of Dreams And The Dream Of A House...

From Rocky Aur Rani dreams to Gully Boy realities, the idea of owning a home changes one's relationship with oneself

- Niraj Kakade

I grew up watching Karan Johar and Sooraj Barjatya movies. For me, the idea of a happy family was synonymous with giant mansions and extended relatives. I reckoned that they used Razor scooters to go from one corner of the house to the other. Perhaps that's what I needed-giant mansions and a bunch of Razor scooters to have a happy family, right?

But things seldom work like that. Today, as I stand on the precipice of my 30s and as the new 'man of the house', both the idea of a house and that of a happy family seem elusive. I have a functional relationship with my parents. They know as much as they need to about my life. But it wasn't always this way. Growing up in a lower-middle-class family, I was always seen as a retirement plan rather than a son or a human being.