The Monarch of All I Survey

My most favourite part of any buliding is its terrace. It's the place I run to when I need to cry, jump with joy , spend time by myself, look up at the stars and clouds, sing out loud and dance or read a book. For the first 18 years of my life until I left for college, the terrace I went to was the one back home. It's an incredible place. On one side you can see the beautiful Chamundi Hills and on the other you can see the sun set in all its orange glory. The best time to go up there however is when it's dark...ah, the stars, the moon, the breeze, coconut trees as far as the eye can see....it's divine.

This post then is an ode to that beautiful terrace of mine. Why out of the blue you ask? Well you see my parents have been on this massive overdrive to rehaul the house and my pretty terrace is a victim of their madness. I haven't seen the new terrace yet, but before I do, I'd like to remember the old one.

When I was a really tiny person, making it to the terrace was like making it to the summit of a mountain. As I grew older, I went through this phase where I wanted a play house. My parents pulled their hair out trying to find me a place to make my home; my terrace came to the rescue...I found a perfect little corner under the water tank. I still remember that summer when I lovingly furnished my little house with food and toys.

One of my earliest chores was to get the clothes down from the line, my parents thought it would build character, but to me it was an excuse to run up and feel the wind in my hair. Some of my best memories with my family can be traced back to the terrace as well. It's where my sister used to give me her long goodbye talks. When my dad carried his drink up there, it meant he was in a mood to talk and we'd bond over peanuts under the starry sky. Amma and I have spent many gleeful moments up there as we'd run to get down the clothes before they got wet from the rain.

I've thrown birthday parties up there. I've sung out loud. I've studied there. I did most of my reading there. I've bawled like a baby, somtimes with joy and sometimes otherwise. In short, a lot of my childhood and adolescence has been spent up on my beautiful terrace, which is undergoing a facelife as I write. So here's three cheers to the old one, and a heart full of hope that the new one will live up to its legacy.