Home

"Home can be anywhere. You just have to feel at ease, that's most important", Naina always remembers these words of her mother whenever she feels homesick. It has been three years since she came to Delhi, and still there are times when she desperately misses her dad's hugs and mom's mouth-watering dishes. She knows how hard it is to live away from home and family in a new city and how ruthless it can be at times.

Since last few days on her way to college she has been noticing a group of middle-aged men and women, and children squatting in the local park. Needless to say that everybody was viewing them with suspicion and derision. A few young boys even ventured to throw stones at the squatter's group to prove their manhood. Naina was disheartened to see the callous attitude of her neighbours towards people who might desperately need help. However, when Naina approached them, they eyed her with distrust and the children were visibly hostile towards her. Naina was disheartened to see their hostility and distrust towards her when her only intention had been to help them. However, they might be justified in their distrust, Naina sighed as an afterthought.

Later that day, it was Naina's roommate who broached the topic.

"Have you seen those squatters in the park?” she asked.

"Yeah." replied Naina.

"They were looking for an apartment to rent. But nobody is willing to have them as tenants. God knows which alien, devilish language they speak." she sneered.

Next day Naina was determined to approach them once again. As she went towards the park, she was surprised to hear them speaking Mizo among themselves. Naina spoke fluent Mizo, for she had spent her childhood in Mizoram. With a broad smile on her face, she stood before them and in a friendly and clear voice greeted them, "Chibai." The whole group was taken aback to hear a stranger speaking their tongue. Most of them heaved a sigh of relief to hear their mother tongue in the unknown land and the children started prancing around her. A man, possibly their leader, went to her and thanked her for her concern. He told her that they came to Delhi in search of job and also because Delhi had better prospects for the kids' education. But nobody was willing to talk to them or even rent them a room for they cannot speak Hindi.

"They treat us as if we belong to an alien land." the man sighed.

"Certainly we belong to an alien land. According to mainland India." jeered a woman.

Naina was pained to see such bitterness everywhere. However, she assured them to help find a room. A few days later she indeed found an apartment for them and helped them to shift. Everyone was elated and thanked her profusely. But deep down Naina knew that she hasn't done enough to help them or numerous people like them to assimilate into the mainstream society.

The thought that she has somehow failed them kept gnawing at her. She knew how atrocious people can be towards the perceived ‘outsiders’; she has witnessed such atrocity first hand. She knew that this invisible barrier between 'insiders' and 'outsiders' has to be dismantled, but she was clueless as to how. The solution though seeming within grasp always eluded her, and she became increasingly restless.

And finally, one day her Eureka moment did arrive. It was an article with an eye-catching title that drew her attention while she was scrolling down a social networking site, and it was this article which finally popped the solution which had eluded her so long. The article was titled: 'Language: Bridge or Barrier?' Naina was suddenly reminded of the disparaging remark of her roommate about the group's language as well as the bitterness and hostility of the group towards their perceived 'outsiders'.

"So, it all boils down to language" thought Naina. And the next moment she turned on her laptop, as if she had a blueprint of the plan already embedded in her mind. Naina is excellent with codes and all things technical, her talent has won her many accolades as well. For the next two days she was engrossed in her laptop's screen and as soon as she switched it off at the end of the second day, she literally rushed to the Mizo group's apartment.

In a ceremonious manner she introduced the language learning app which she has developed. She droned on about its interactive surface, virtual learning platform and state-of-the-art features. The elders were initially sceptical about the whole affair, but seeing her enthusiasm they decided to give it a try. She assured them that by the end of the month they will get a grasp over basic Hindi.

After a month, the results far exceeded Naina's expectations. Everyone in the group had achieved proficiency in basic spoken Hindi, which in turn had improved their employment prospects as well as their living standards. No longer were they depended on others for basic communication. No longer did people view them with suspicion, and the children were not bullied in school anymore. Gradually they were accepted into the society.

The app became an instant hit with the non-Hindi speakers living in the Hindi belt. Finally, Naina was at ease because deep down, she knew that this time she has not failed her Mizo friends and numerous people like them.

Months later while giving an interview for a tech magazine when Naina was asked why did she name the app 'Home', she felt that she had known the answer all along even though she had named the app on the spur of the moment.

She quoted her mother, “Home can be anywhere. You just have to feel at ease, that's most important” and the app does just that, makes you feel at ease.