March 29. “Button, when our old sofa set of 6 years gave way to a spanking new one sent by a friend of Dost, we were heart-broken, especially Dost.”

“But I would imagine one would be happy getting something new into the house so the old can be moved out!”

“Old stuff, be it furniture or a previous home have so many memories attached. The old sofa set that was given away was a lovely blue Spanish set. It was made of cane and looked more like garden furniture. We have photographs of our pets sitting and posing or sleeping on them. Family members have lounged on them and talked about so many things. Moving into a new home is very similar. The previous house we lived in was much smaller than the present one we live in today but I remember how we all wept when we gave up that house. That house was the first one we moved into when we left Kolkata to come and live in Mumbai. Kolkata was Calcutta and Mumbai was Bombay in those days. Our very first home in Mumbai was on Walkeshwar Road where some very influential people like VP Singh, Aamir Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Natwar Singh—just to name a few—came to visit Dost and have a meal with the family.”

“Isn’t it a lot similar to human beings when they age?”

“Absolutely. Old parents are shunted away to old people’s homes or left in Benaras to fend for themselves. It’s heart-wrenching.”

“On the other hand, we can’t go on collecting old and faded things.”

“That’s true as long as it applies to material things only.”