Down the memory lane of my favourite space – Balcony

Isn’t balcony the most beautiful and serene place in everybody’s home? It ushers the light in, makes way for the cool breeze, giving us a fresh breath of air, allowing our minds to relax and bask in the nature’s pleasure.

Growing up, I loved sitting in the momentous balcony of our palatial bedroom in the monumental church compound. Surrounded with the towering walls on all sides, it didn’t offer a panorama of the outside world, which gave me the liberty to be myself in the secure shelter. Studying or watching birds or staring into space or playing with my siblings, I hold splendid memories of my childhood balcony times. I still love watching the squirrels scurrying up and down the tall trees, squishing their bushy tails and munching on their food with their hands holding their special dainties.

All of my juvenile years, we lived in a rented apartment. Resembling an old bungalow, it had a large balcony too. Unlike my childhood days, it was adjacent to the road. Even though I restricted myself from spending long hours sitting there, I distinctly remember the times I sat in a corner looking at the trees in the vicinal park, singing songs when there was a power-cut, pampering the pet dog and parrot, occasionally giving myself a pedicure. Looking closely, I would find a kingfisher or a woodpecker sometimes. Here and there, cats silently jumping the walls, the little birds tacitly gathering twigs to build their nests and collecting food to feed their babies. All these creatures bring life to nature’s beauty. While the list is endless, I cherish all those balcony moments associated with my adolescence.

I’m too full of reminiscences of a balcony today.

When I procured a job and moved out of my hometown, the balcony in the sharing accommodation was only used to exhibit wet clothes and desiccate them.

Gradually, my intimacy with balconies zeroed out before the end of my bachelorette-hood days.

After getting married, my husband and I moved to a two bedroom apartment with a large balcony. With our work-shift conflicts, we had relaxing couple balcony moments eating hot soupy noodles, only on weekends, especially Saturdays (non-church days). With its minimal human use, our balcony was soon transformed into a birdhouse. Thanks to the pigeon community! These busybodies were perpetually laying eggs and unceasingly raising babies. Even though we weren’t quite happy about it, we willingly leased our space to the ever growing bird community for free.

Six months later, we shifted to a new two bedroom apartment, which is our current happy place. Unfortunately, our balcony is a minuscule. However, it is a mirthful little space, with two nifty sparrows who built their nest meticulously on the roof, propping it beautifully between the wall and the drain pipe. Unlike our old apartment, these little creatures didn’t invade our space. They have their own private space on the top and are busy multiplying babies. It’s a delight to see them growing, especially when the sparrow population is close to extinction in many states. Their cute chirping is so pleasant to my ears. In fact, their existence gave me a reason to make more visits to the balcony. In a way, they restored my love for balcony again so much so that I planned a surprise dinner date night in that itsy-bitsy space on one of our special days. And, undoubtedly, he fell in love again, with the same Me. (Someday, I’ll write about it)

Ain’t balconies splendid and winsome in their own way? What are your favorite moments in a balcony? I’d love to hear your balcony stories.

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