I remember talking to a German traveller in Australia. We were both staying in the same Melbourne AirBnb. I was cleaning my cycle in the backyard for my upcoming flight to Taiwan in a few days. While she was thinking about her trip back to Germany in a month or so. She had spent a few years in Australia. The German passport is one of the strongest in the world, so it is easy for them to stay for a few years in another country without much visa hassles.

When she told me she is going home soon, I asked whether it was still ‘home’ for her. She said she didn’t know, she hadn’t really thought about it. It seemed unlikely to me that after travelling in another country for so many years that the feeling of ‘home’ remains the same.

If one doesn’t spend any hardcore time outside of your house/city then we take this feeling for granted. But I think it is only after we move out and have some truly deep experiences elsewhere that all of a sudden our experience of ‘home’ changes.

Even before I started travelling (as a lifestyle) I had already experienced a shift in my feelings for ‘home’. I had left my house in Mumbai, my parents and moved to the Isha Yoga Center as a full-time volunteer. As it happened I stayed there for a year. But I didn’t have any deadline in mind when I had moved there. With an Indian passport, I can plan such long stays only in India or very few other countries 😀

For a while Isha Yoga Center had been ‘home’.

Once I returned from IYC to Mumbai and then started out work and a whole lot of other activities as a contributing member of society (yes, I just said “contributing member of society” 😀 ) I wondered about this feeling of home. Cause Mumbai never entirely became ‘home’.

It was an intriguing reality, this feeling of home. I had never managed to pinpoint what exactly that feeling was.

Over time I loved being on the road. I mean very literally, when I was moving from one place to another. Reaching the actual place is always exciting but very few places give me a ‘homely feel’. I feel safe and trustful almost everywhere. I am also happy especially because I have a daily yoga routine. So settling into a new place and doing the same yoga practices everywhere helps familiarise and bring a settledness within. But still there is a homely feeling that happens only in some few places.

I am not even sure what exactly it is, but I think some salient aspects to ‘feel at home’ are,

trust and some resonance with the people around – familiar faces and camaraderie

a certain love for the place and its people – if it is a farm or a urban place or yoga center

reasonably adequate facilities

cozy solitude spots where I can while away time on my own

Some of the places where I felt homely include the homestay in Coorg which sadly I have not visited again. I feel odd about it cause I really thought I would visit again when I was leaving that place.

Taipei – I totally love this city, it was one of the few places where I simply went and sat outside on the street steps at 11 pm to watch the comings and goings.

Taipei

One of the Melbourne home-stays owing to a very friendly vegan host who was also very excited about India. Unfortunately I was searching her listing and it seems she isn’t hosting for now.

There may have been other places also which I don’t recall currently, or places I may not have spent enough time to feel that way.

I also love cycle touring. The soft zing of the cycle wheels as we ride long distance is amazing. It doesn’t happen in shorter rides. In longer rides, the land and the cycle and me start feeling like one. It’s lovely. And camping also is very enjoyable. It feels like a different nomadic home….

Camping home… 🙂

It is only lately, maybe a year back that I started considering a slightly permanent apartment of mine which can be my home base. And then I can keep travelling from there. I was considering renting a small apartment in Tiruvannamalai or some such small place for long term. But I am still taking my time with this due to certain factors.

Currently, I am aware of this feeling within me to have a home-apartment. And let’s see what, when, where and how this feeling evolves.

There are a few reasons that interest me towards having a ‘home’ apartment base. It lets me have a decor that I prefer. Amenities the way I want them. Especially, a kitchen setup that let’s me properly cook. A truly suited kitchen is not very easy even in expensive apartments with a working kitchen. Depending on our specific culture and taste we have a fairly distinct set of utensils and stock food items and all that. Even in 3-6 month long stays I don’t think I can setup a kitchen like I would ideally want. With a long-term apartment, I can do this. I can continue travelling and every few months I can head back here and feel settled. And cook and do whatever as per my tastes. It can also be a place with a set of friends and social circle.

Home base.

Let’s see. Currently, as I said, I am remaining aware of this feeling. Cause maybe it is a passing phase, who knows. Moreover, I don’t have an ideal town/place where I can set this up.

And as it happens I am now in Isha Yoga Center for a month or so. It’s been over 10 years since I called it ‘home’. A lot of faces are familiar. And I am curious to see how it feels to be back here considering this was the first place where my idea of ‘home’ changed.

What’s ‘home’ for you? I think sometimes it can also be a person. What do you think?