Our sub-division (and the others around us) comprise of homes with neat lawns. Short, well-trimmed bushes dot the garden and patches of pretty flowers are laid out. Decorative plants surround the house and the end result is one of neatness, neatness and well, neatness. And boredom. If you step outside and drive for a good five minutes, you start passing these old houses. These are really old-fashioned homes with blue-green-black patchwork on the outer walls (You will NEVER see those designs on these new houses), huge trees forming a canopy all around the house and lots of grass growing wild with yellow flowers peeking out. Many of these houses stand on large plots and what characterises them is the large number of trees that grow on these plots. God forbid a storm hit the county causing the branches to splinter and collapse on the structure but nevetheless, I love the look of these houses. There is such character to them, for lack of a better term. What really touches me, is how much they remind me of my Variam in Kerala.
I belong to the Warrier community in Kerala and the traditional Warrier households are referred to as Variams. Our Variam is in Thrissur en route to Guruvayoor. The house is large and ancestral, built in wood and stone and marble. There is a huge plot beside the house, overgrown with mango trees, jackfruit trees and other kinds of vegetation. They grow naturally, no one waters these plants. When the leaves fall, no one picks them up. They are there because they were meant to be. Not for any kind of decorative or landscaping value but they add that natural, real beauty to the home that a boring fern or a moss plant can never even dream of conveying.
parag says:
Completely agree with you. I hate all the unnatural lawns and ferns and other crappy decorative plants. Half of our 2 acre plot is thick woods and if I have my way the rest would be prairie. We have just a few flowring plants and I take very minimal care to keep the lawn green. Fertilizing it infrequently and never watering it works fine. Thankfully, that is enough to keep out neighbors and association happy.
July 28, 2006 — 2:34 am
Lakshmi says:
🙂 You mirror my thoughts perfectly. Would love to have woods on our plot as well.
July 28, 2006 — 7:12 pm
shashwati says:
The large rambling, sometimes mossy house by the lake of yore… 🙂
You’re right. I somehow associate those houses very much with my childhood, it brings in the same pleasure, security and memories of carefree days spent eating, playing and home-work. Lazy warm winter afternoons ending into the perfect sunsets reflected onto the waters of the lake and walls of the house through kaleidoscopic stained glass windows… bliss. And not to forget the central “aangan” where all the rest of the rooms in the house open..
The made-up landscaped stuff reminds me of growing up, responsibilities, and living on your own in a far away land. Not a bad thing in itself, but I’d like to bring the same old feel/charm/comfort to my own home someday…
July 29, 2006 — 2:28 am
Lakshmi says:
It’s as much the memories of a warm childhood as it is the irritation I feel at how things are domesticated and *made neat* thereby causing them to lose their natural spirit.
July 30, 2006 — 12:38 pm