Desh- Dungarpur, Rajasthan
We keep redefining and romanticising on the idea of the home. But shouldn’t we just ask people about it — when does one start calling a place home? How temporal can it be? Is it even tangible? This is one of the first thing I remember seeping through me in the first few months at the school of architecture.
Ramjibhai stayed with us for over 30 years. Nine years ago and a year into the school I decided to celebrate Diwali with him in Dungarpur, Rajasthan. He had just retired a few years back then and moved back to his village. I remember naively trying to talk to him about what he called home and he said
“jya khava male ae ghar”.
“home is where food is”
Today he owns a little grocery shop at the edge of his house, farms as much as he needs and spends time making and drinking his own wine.
