House...

Dr. Gregory House is a huge favorite of mine. Borrowing and customizing from the McDonald's ad - "I want to shake the hands of the genius who created the character". He is a megalomaniac, I absolutely love the way Hugh Laurie gives life and form to Gregory House M.D.. I am now of the belief that there is in fact a genius called Dr. House who heads the department of Diagnostics at the Princeton - Plainsboro teaching hospital in New Jersey. For a crew to create a character that people start believing really exist, I guess that must be a milestone of creative genius any movie/ tv show producer would strive to reach (apart from TRP's ofcourse).

I love the wit and the fast pace. There is an instance when someone says to House "Ya I've heard your name" House's immediate retort is "It's also a noun". I was stumped.I laughed for a while, I missed the next wise crack from him cause I was still laughing for this one.

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Well the word "House" as a noun is of interest to me as well. Over the years I have come to learn that this noun is associated with a spectrum of meanings. The term is subjective, and not limited to just the concrete, wood and glass that goes into it's making.

My mom bought three houses during her tenure, but only the last one does she call Home. Surprising how these two synonyms have a gulf of difference in their meaning. 

To almost all of us it is an investment; statistics say that approximately 60%  of a person's fortune is accounted for by the real estate they own. I assume the house people live in will be at least a miniature portion of the real estate they own. Hence I safely assume that the house is a part of their financial fortune. 

If there was ever a graph to see how the meaning of the term "house" varied with income levels, I would love to see what people closer to origin on the the two axis would say, and compare it to the remarks of those on the other extreme of the graph.

 I'm also curious to see the Venn Diagram which states for what portion of the people it is home (h), for whom it is pure investment (i) and for what percentage of people is it home and investment (h intersection i).

The thought crossed my mind after Ike. I couldn't find an answer to the following questions:

1) Why didn't people evacuate their houses even when authorities warned them of certain death in case they stayed back?

2) Did they think the house was indestructible? Or was it some unshakeable faith in their home that made them think they'll be safe?

3) Did they prefer to die in their home, than take refuge elsewhere? Is a home more precious than your life?

4) Were they plain lazy or plain crazy?

Whatever be the case it would be devastating to know that your home / house was destroyed after all that you've dreamed of / paid for in it. One million people were left homeless in Haiti after Ike swept through the island. I can only imagine the pain they undergo seeing only wreckage where once their house stood.

Let me jump to another level and think about a much larger picture, the Earth. Men of wisdom have said "Mahatmanam tu Vasudha ev Kutumbakam", an interesting phrase in Sanskrit which means "for the great the whole earth is their family". The Human race and all living forms are a family, and our home is the Earth. We are born here, we live, learn, dream and make our dreams come true here. 

Then regarding the majority of us who consider their House an investment, by the standard of having the whole Earth for our house, we should consider investing more time, money and fortune into this huge chunk of real estate. Well I am not one to judge, I'm sure we all do our part. Except for the pollution bit about which we all complain but do nothing, and wait for another member of our extended family (kutumbakam) to come up with a solution, or at least do moral policing. 

Coming back to my Mom - she thinks her 3rd house is her Home because she says this is the hearth my Dad and herself had pictured in their younger days. My mom only wanted one promise from me, never sell this house. I play the words in my mind again and think she meant do not consider this just another house and sell it. Well I won't, because it is the home of their dreams where their memories and mine will live happily ever after. 

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Today at 8:00 pm EST the new season of House premieres. Another hour of action from Hugh Laurie, where he limps around the whole place stabbing people's egos and feeding his own, while he cures the most complex and subtle diseases, and leaves millions of us breathless in anticipation of what's next. I don't know about others but I'll be glued to the idiot box for sure. :), well I'll breathe during commercials .. duh!!!