Hafsah Amin- A home away from home

Home.

Home can mean many things. For some, it’s the house they grew up in. For others, it’s a personwho makes them feel safe. Sometimes it’s just a feeling, that quiet sense of belonging. For me,home is my nani’s ghar. I wasn’t raised there, I didn’t take my first steps in its rooms, and Ididn’t spend most of my days within its walls. Yet, no place in the world feels more like home.When I think of home, I think of being surrounded by the people I love most, gathered under oneroof. Nani ka ghar is where our family comes alive. It’s where cousins conspire against eachother in a friendly fire in noisy board games, and where laughter echoes through the rooms longafter the game is over. It’s where our grandmother sits us down to tell us her scary stories, hervoice dropping into a dramatic whisper as we all cling to one another. Those moments maysound small, but to me they are unforgettable.There’s something about that house that cannot be replaced. It’s in the little things,

A home away from home By Hafsah Amin

Illustrated By Zahra Aly Osman

The patterned curtains that have swayed in the same breeze for as long as I canremember. The family photographs covering the walls, their frames a little dusty but their smilesfrozen in time, keeping our memories alive. These small details might be easy to overlook, butthey are forever imprinted on my heart.What makes nani’s ghar even more special is the way it brings people together. Life keeps usbusy and as we grow older, everyone drifts apart. Whether it’s because of school, work, or newresponsibilities, we lose track. Yet, once a year, we all return. And the moment we step insidethat house, it feels as though nothing has changed. The same laughter bounces off the walls, thesame arguments break out over board games, and the same love fills every corner.Of course, the house itself has changed over the years. The wallpaper looks worn out and thepaint has begun to peel in places, the furniture has aged, and the rooms don’t feel quite as big asthey did when we were younger. But strangely, none of that has ever mattered. The magic ofnani’s ghar isn’t in how it looks, it’s in the feeling it gives. Even as time moves forward, thehouse remains a constant, a place where we know we can always return to. There’s a particularkind of comfort that comes from knowing there is a space in the world where you are alwayswelcome, no matter how much life shifts and changes. That’s what nani’s ghar represents to me.It’s not just a building made of bricks and walls, it’s a living memory, stitched together withmoments of joy, love, and laughter.Sometimes I wonder what home will mean to me in the future. Maybe one day I’ll build a homeof my own, with new traditions, new memories, and new people to fill its rooms. But I know thatno matter where I go, nani’s ghar will always be the place I return to in my mind when I think ofthe word “home.” It’s the place that taught me that home isn’t just the place where you return toat the end of the day, but it’s where you feel the deepest sense of belonging.In the end, home is not just about walls and doors. It’s about the way your heart feels when youstep inside. For me, home will always be nani’s ghar, the place where laughter never ends,stories never fade, and love never runs out.