All my three kid are back home. Except their papa who because of his outstation posting cannot be here with us, we all make a complete family. When my second daughter arrived yesterday, her happiness could give anyone a signal about the state of her mind, on being back home, where she sincerely believed to belong to! Her generous revealings about how she misses all of us when she is away, make me wonder ahat exactly makes a "house" a "home"?

Is it the mere physical proximity of the members living in the house that makes it a home or there has to be something else in it to be qualified as a Home? She stayed at two places during her short visit and missed her home the more, when she closely watched the relationships among the members of those two dwelling places. Her stark views have made me more concerned about the declining value system in the society and also the sham that people put on even in front of their own near ones.

Her very honest question about whether it is the people who are wrong or we are wrong that the feeling of uncomfort is generated while closely watching the changing trends in the social circle around one's ownself? As a "participant observer" she made some very pertinent observations about the changing values and attitudes among young girls and was particularly concerned about the value system that these girls would carry over to the most important and basic institution of society i.e. FAMILY!

Though, we elders are always critical of the changing or degrading values among the youth but still I laugh it off as passing fad, prevalent in the urban areas and not to have anything to do with our kind of life. But her observations have made me wonder and a bit apprehensive also about the kind of society these values would usher us to? Having critically watched the girls with rural bases, the girls with urban roots and also the girls who were under transition from the rural to urban modes of life, a pattern that was unmistakenly common, was the declining respect for all that we hold as precious, the family bonds.

Is it the preference for the life of ease and of comfort that makes these young girls sacrifice all that the "home" used to stand for? As all these observations have come from my daughter who is young and ready to take upon a new social role in near future, makes me question whether it is the world that is at fault or we, the so caled old-fashioned" people,who still value clinging to old world value system.

I am thankful to God that all that what people adapt in the name of modernity, has still not touched my kids but when she questioned me "Why did I feel uncomfortable watching the general trend in relationships, and why I love running back home?", made me wonder how would my kids make their peace with the world if they would be all the time critical of the trends that they find suffocating? And more so when the average multitudes of people constituting the world around us, seem to belong the this particular group.

Life is making adjustments. I made adjustments in my own time. But, fortunately, these were very small, and we were able to raise a family based on mutual respect and love that formed the very basis of our "Home". Though, apprehensive of the future, my optimistic self believes that the values imparted to our kids would help them sustain all outward pressures and they would be able to raise a family of their own and would have a "Home" where their kids would love to return, as mine come to regain strength, so as they go out to face the world at their own terms and conditions!