The room on the roof

Our house in my hometown is way larger than the flat we live in back home. To the twins’ absolute awe and delight it is a stand-alone bungalow, has a huge room on the first floor with a large terrace.

Till a few years back they were too young to go exploring and we managed to keep them grounded (pun intended!). My mum imagined them sliding down the steep bannister and running up and down the stairs and promptly issued a blanket ban. Then there are monkeys, no not mine, real ones – aggressive and fearless – that roam the neighbourhood. We all thought it was best to restrict the children to the ground floor.

Till they were about 5 or 6 they complied.

A few years later they made their way to the first landing then to the second until finally they ‘discovered’ the room. Since the holidays were almost over by the time they made this momentous discovery there wasn’t much they could do. They had to be satisfied with leaving notes all over the doors and windows labelling it as ‘H&N’s room’. And that was that!

Next year the moment they arrived they scooted up to assert ownership. The room was quite bare since it wasn’t much in use and the twins set out to rectify it rightaway. First, they decided, it needed to be furnished. During the long summer afternoons, while all of us adults shut ourselves in our rooms with the hum of the AC for company, the twins went to work.

They picked a mattress from one of the rooms on the ground floor (taking care to replace the covers back on the bed so no one would notice) and lugged it up. If you’ve ever tried walking with a full-sized Sleepwell mattress you’d realise how determined my 6-year-olds would have been. Next they needed tables and chairs. They decided the ground floor had one too many and dragged up some chairs too. The furniture was old, heavy and sturdy, lovingly made during my grandfather’s time. The twins, it would seem, were sturdier.

How they managed to do all of this in complete secrecy remains a mystery.

They put up some more notices at the door, instituted a ‘tax’ for entry and the room was done. That year they spent entire days up there, fiddling with the large old broken down radio, carrying up food and juice and playing all kinds of pretend games.

It was a relief to have them out of my hair.

Everyone is now reconciled to the fact that that’s where they’ll stay. Their bags are carried up the moment they arrive. They continue to love the place. Despite their fear of monkeys, they walk out onto the terrace and spend hours on the swing.

Last week they decided to have a screen-free day. They spent the morning going up and down busily. Then N pretended to be stranded up in a tower (or something of that sort) and sent down a rope while H tied all kinds of supplies – water and cold drinks and biscuits – which she’d pull up and then he’d run and join her for a snack.

I watched them, glad and grateful, that there was still time before they outgrew their childhood and that silly as their make-believe games might be, they still could trounce technology.

They continue to believe the room is their discovery – no matter that it was my parents who got it constructed after much discussion and many hours of pondering over the plans. “They might have got it built,” argue the little ones, “but then they forgot about it and we discovered it.”

Linking up with

Mackenzie at Reflections from Me.

24 Replies to “The room on the roof”

  1. What fun! I too used to love our ancestoral old house in Calcutta…we could roam all the rooms and discover some new nook and cranny that we could hide in without being discovered for hours! Glad your two also have that thrill to look forward to on each visit!
    Sorry to be MIA for so long! Just getting back to blogging!

    1. Ours isn’t really an ancestral home but it’s still much larger than our flat. The kids love it. Glad to have you back Roshni and thanks for dropping by.

  2. lol for the last line. It was a fun narration for the fun the kids are having. Have they thought about adding the word explorers too to their repertoire? I can imagine the plight of a princess been locked up in the tower and the prince’s (which in this case happens to be the brother) hardwork in replenishing the supplies in the traditional sense. I am sure you are getting enough peace time with them spending most of their time upstairs 🙂
    Anamika Agnihotri recently put up this amazing post…The Conniving Filmy Kids #MondayMusingsMy Profile

    1. Oh yes. This year they pretty much left me alone. They were often on their tabs, which they get only for these two months and also because there is much more to see. Now that we’re back the house suddenly seems so much smaller. Sigh!

  3. That must have been such an adventure for them! I would’ve personally loved a room of that sort as well. Ahh I remember having converted a room to our own with my cousins at my grandparents’ place. Every time we go in there that room in particular feels specially homely. 🙂
    Dashy recently put up this amazing post…From Fresher to SophomoreMy Profile

  4. This sounds like so much fun. Takes me back to my own childhood memories to my nana’s palatial bungalow where we kids had so much fun in indulging in these inane activities. Now, that home is long gone and my father’s place is functional and modern. Glad to see how the twins are making the most of their vacation and giving you the must needed breathing space.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badge