--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That was our first home. Before I felt…" description: "\"“That was our first home. Before I felt like an island in an ocean, before Calcutta, before everything that followed. You know it wasn’t a home at firs..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/537/kunal-sen-25243_first-home_that-was-our-first-home-before-i-felt-li_1784601.jpg" --- # That was our first home. Before I felt like an island in… ![“That was our first home. Before I felt like an island in an ocean, before Calcutta, before everything that followed. You know it wasn’t a home at first but just a shell. Nothing ostentatious but just a rented two-room affair, an unneeded corridor that ran alongside them, second hand cane…” quote by Kunal Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/537/kunal-sen-25243_first-home_that-was-our-first-home-before-i-felt-li_1784601.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/537/kunal-sen-25243_first-home_that-was-our-first-home-before-i-felt-li_1784601.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/537/kunal-sen-25243_first-home_that-was-our-first-home-before-i-felt-li_1784601.jpg) > ““That was our first home. Before I felt like an island in an ocean, before Calcutta, before everything that followed. You know it wasn’t a home at first but just a shell. Nothing ostentatious but just a rented two-room affair, an unneeded corridor that ran alongside them, second hand cane furniture, cheap crockery, two leaking faucets, a dysfunctional doorbell, and a flight of stairs that led to, but ended just before the roof (one of the many idiosyncrasies of the house), secured by a sixteen garrison lock, and a balcony into which a mango tree’s branch had strayed. The house was in a building at least a hundred years old and looked out on a street and a tenement block across it. The colony, if you were to call it a colony, had no name. The house itself was seedy, decrepit, as though a safe-keeper of secrets and scandals. It had many entries and exits and it was possible to get lost in it. And in a particularly inspired stroke of whimsy architectural genius, it was almost invisible from the main road like H.G. Wells’ ‘Magic Shop’. As a result, we had great difficulty when we had to explain our address to people back home. It went somewhat like this, ‘... take the second one from the main road….and then right after turning left from Dhakeshwari, you will see a bird shop (unspecific like that, for it had no name either)… walk straight in and take the stairs at the end to go to the first floor, that’s where we dwell… but don’t press the bell, knock… and don't walk too close to the cages unless you want bird-hickeys…’’ ('Left from Dhakeshwari')”” [Kunal Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kunal-sen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A cramped, labyrinthine house hides many secrets, reflecting the complexity of memory and belonging. **In simple terms:** The house is a maze of memories. Key Takeaway Embrace the stories within spaces. Themes memory home complexity Mood reflective nostalgic Type literary descriptive When to use this quote - family gatherings - exploring old neighborhoods - writing memoirs - film set design Key Concepts spatial metaphor nostalgia urban decay Questions to Reflect On - How does environment shape personal narrative? - What details make a place feel lived‑in? A Different Perspective The description may romanticize hardship, overlooking real suffering. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Calcutta Followed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/calcutta-followed-1891448/) [Dhakeshwari Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dhakeshwari-bird-1891447/) [First home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-home/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Home Went](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home-went-1194747/) [Homelessness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/homelessness/) [House](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/house/) [Left Dhakeshwari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left-dhakeshwari-1335837/) [Reminiscence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reminiscence/) [Second hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/second-hand/) ## Related quotes > [“Baby, I bear remnants of you on my body, on my soul. I always have, I always will, gladly. I just want you to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kunal-sen/baby-i-bear-remnants-of-you-on-my-body-on-my-soul-i-always-have-i/) [Kunal Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kunal-sen/) > [“There would remain no sign of you ever having played in this house. Your childhood is going to be swept under a camel-skin rug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kunal-sen/there-would-remain-no-sign-of-you-ever-having-played-in-this-house/) [Kunal Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kunal-sen/) > [“Why weren’t you beautiful? That would’ve solved everything.’ ('Left from Dhakeshwari')”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kunal-sen/why-weren-t-you-beautiful-that-would-ve-solved-everything-left-from/) [Kunal Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kunal-sen/) > [“She taught me how to wear a Tangail saree, she taught me Julius Caesar. She taught me how to deal with the pain of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kunal-sen/she-taught-me-how-to-wear-a-tangail-saree-she-taught-me-julius-caesar/) [Kunal Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kunal-sen/) > [“For feverish mornings after he left, she lay awake in that guest room in their house, in the rumples of the sheet he had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kunal-sen/for-feverish-mornings-after-he-left-she-lay-awake-in-that-guest-room/) [Kunal Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kunal-sen/) > [“Back then, come July, and the blazers would again make their way out of the steel trunks and evenings would be spent looking at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kunal-sen/back-then-come-july-and-the-blazers-would-again-make-their-way-out-of/) [Kunal Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kunal-sen/) > [There's an old saying - There's No Place Like Home. Well, I went in the house next door, and it was very similar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-parfitt/there-s-an-old-saying-there-s-no-place-like-home-well-i-went-in-the/) [Geoffrey Parfitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-parfitt/) > [I didn't feel ready to leave home, because it went from no freedom to all freedom. And I was like, 'Oh, my God, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lampanelli/i-didn-t-feel-ready-to-leave-home-because-it-went-from-no-freedom-to/) [Lisa Lampanelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lampanelli/) > [One woman I was dating called and said, 'Come on over, there's nobody home.' I went over. Nobody was home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-dangerfield/one-woman-i-was-dating-called-and-said-come-on-over-there-s-nobody/) [Rodney Dangerfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-dangerfield/) > [A girl phoned me the other day and said... 'Come on over, there's nobody home.' I went over. Nobody was home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-dangerfield/a-girl-phoned-me-the-other-day-and-said-come-on-over-there-s-nobody/) [Rodney Dangerfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-dangerfield/) > [I was 28, and my mom was living with me. I had to decide. You have to claim it; you can't ask permission. After…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lea-salonga/i-was-28-and-my-mom-was-living-with-me-i-had-to-decide-you-have-to/) [Lea Salonga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lea-salonga/) > [We spent a lot of time talking about politics at home. We went to the camp at Greenham Common.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-truss/we-spent-a-lot-of-time-talking-about-politics-at-home-we-went-to-the/) [Liz Truss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-truss/) > [It was daylight and I drove everyone home - I was driving a Mini with John and Cynthia and Pattie in it. I seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-harrison/it-was-daylight-and-i-drove-everyone-home-i-was-driving-a-mini-with/) [George Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-harrison/) > [I left home and went off and travelled from quite a young age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harris-dickinson/i-left-home-and-went-off-and-travelled-from-quite-a-young-age/) [Harris Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harris-dickinson/) > [I don't go out that much anymore, unfortunately. I used to enjoy it, but I'm just so busy. Like last night, everybody else went…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-ann-womack/i-don-t-go-out-that-much-anymore-unfortunately-i-used-to-enjoy-it-but/) [Lee Ann Womack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-ann-womack/) ## More by Kunal Sen > [“I had wanted to hate you that day. Believe me, I had. And then suddenly, staring at me incredulously, your extra half-tooth had blurted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kunal-sen/i-had-wanted-to-hate-you-that-day-believe-me-i-had-and-then-suddenly/) [Kunal Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kunal-sen/) > [“Baby, I bear remnants of you on my body, on my soul. I always have, I always will, gladly. I just want you to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kunal-sen/baby-i-bear-remnants-of-you-on-my-body-on-my-soul-i-always-have-i/) [Kunal Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kunal-sen/) > [“For feverish mornings after he left, she lay awake in that guest room in their house, in the rumples of the sheet he had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kunal-sen/for-feverish-mornings-after-he-left-she-lay-awake-in-that-guest-room/) [Kunal Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kunal-sen/) > [“self-annihilation is necessary for high art”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kunal-sen/self-annihilation-is-necessary-for-high-art/) [Kunal Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kunal-sen/) > [“She taught me how to wear a Tangail saree, she taught me Julius Caesar. She taught me how to deal with the pain of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kunal-sen/she-taught-me-how-to-wear-a-tangail-saree-she-taught-me-julius-caesar/) [Kunal Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kunal-sen/) > [“I shall remain thankful to you for the tenderness of your arms that held me when I wept onto your shoulder, and that held…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kunal-sen/i-shall-remain-thankful-to-you-for-the-tenderness-of-your-arms-that/) [Kunal Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kunal-sen/) > [“Most of what we got was crockery: from exotic crystal bowls to ceramic anomalies. Then, a cross-section of rugs- from a beautiful Kashmiri original…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kunal-sen/most-of-what-we-got-was-crockery-from-exotic-crystal-bowls-to-ceramic/) [Kunal Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kunal-sen/) > [“I want to kiss your forehead; my love now is so evolved. I want to hold your hand and see all the little marks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kunal-sen/i-want-to-kiss-your-forehead-my-love-now-is-so-evolved-i-want-to-hold/) [Kunal Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kunal-sen/) > [“When we were children, Bapi used to dress us up in the same clothes, going to Apsara for ‘Titanic’ or reruns of ‘Dadar Kirti’…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kunal-sen/when-we-were-children-bapi-used-to-dress-us-up-in-the-same-clothes/) [Kunal Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kunal-sen/) > [“I had no eyelashes left. So when I cried, the tears rolled down, unabated to my mouth. My saliva tasted those days, like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kunal-sen/i-had-no-eyelashes-left-so-when-i-cried-the-tears-rolled-down/) [Kunal Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kunal-sen/) > [“Back then, come July, and the blazers would again make their way out of the steel trunks and evenings would be spent looking at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kunal-sen/back-then-come-july-and-the-blazers-would-again-make-their-way-out-of/) [Kunal Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kunal-sen/) > [“At eighteen, she already looks like a woman of sorrows and as her breaths start becoming shorter, tired of looking over her shoulder, she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kunal-sen/at-eighteen-she-already-looks-like-a-woman-of-sorrows-and-as-her/) [Kunal Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kunal-sen/) > [“There would remain no sign of you ever having played in this house. Your childhood is going to be swept under a camel-skin rug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kunal-sen/there-would-remain-no-sign-of-you-ever-having-played-in-this-house/) [Kunal Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kunal-sen/) > [“I remember being in the mood for love at the slightest provocation- your nubile body feeling undeniably illicit, under mine, rhyming, heaving, breathing together,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kunal-sen/i-remember-being-in-the-mood-for-love-at-the-slightest-provocation/) [Kunal Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kunal-sen/) > [“In your rare embrace, sometimes I am lost nowadays. In these years, you have changed. I have changed. Every single day, we’re fighting our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kunal-sen/in-your-rare-embrace-sometimes-i-am-lost-nowadays-in-these-years-you/) [Kunal Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kunal-sen/) [Explore all 23 Kunal Sen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kunal-sen/) ## More First home quotes > [When I was ready to buy my first home after years of renting, I immediately zeroed in on Dorchester.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayanna-pressley/when-i-was-ready-to-buy-my-first-home-after-years-of-renting-i/) [Ayanna Pressley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayanna-pressley/) > [“If you couldn't know the person whose body was your first home, then who could you ever know?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brit-bennett/if-you-couldn-t-know-the-person-whose-body-was-your-first-home-then/) [Brit Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brit-bennett/) > [The first home system we had was an Apple II, and I remember playing a game called 'Conan.' It should have been called 'Tarzan'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-middleditch/the-first-home-system-we-had-was-an-apple-ii-and-i-remember-playing-a/) [Thomas Middleditch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-middleditch/) > [I remember the different things that were happening to my family as we were getting situated and buying our first home in southwest Detroit,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-tlaib/i-remember-the-different-things-that-were-happening-to-my-family-as/) [Rashida Tlaib](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-tlaib/) > [“From the house of my childhood I have brought nothing but precious memories, for there are no memories more precious than those of early…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/from-the-house-of-my-childhood-i-have-brought-nothing-but-precious/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [The two of us had come a long way together from our humble beginnings and the basement apartment that had been our first home…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-chretien/the-two-of-us-had-come-a-long-way-together-from-our-humble-beginnings/) [Jean Chretien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-chretien/) > [“But I want to extol not the sweetness nor the placidity of the dog, but the wilderness out of which he cannot step entirely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/but-i-want-to-extol-not-the-sweetness-nor-the-placidity-of-the-dog/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [One cannot forget that show business also deals with humans. Everything is not so superficial that this is rigged or planned. Sometimes people do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barun-sobti/one-cannot-forget-that-show-business-also-deals-with-humans/) [Barun Sobti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barun-sobti/) > [I really see myself as a homegirl. Wales is my first home. London is my second home - I've been there 14 years now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-jenkins/i-really-see-myself-as-a-homegirl-wales-is-my-first-home-london-is-my/) [Katherine Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-jenkins/) > [People from my first home say I'm brave. They tell me I'm strong. They pat me on the back and say, 'Way to go.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-from-my-first-home-say-i-m-brave-they-tell-me-i-m-strong-they/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The first time I picked up a bat in a professional game, I hit a ball hard left-handed, and my first home run was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chili-davis/the-first-time-i-picked-up-a-bat-in-a-professional-game-i-hit-a-ball/) [Chili Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chili-davis/) > [“The human heart is the first home of democracy. It is where we embrace our questions. Can we be equitable? Can we be generous?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/the-human-heart-is-the-first-home-of-democracy-it-is-where-we-embrace/) [Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/) > [But Vegas is really my first home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-copperfield/but-vegas-is-really-my-first-home/) [David Copperfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-copperfield/) > [Listen, when John Wall came out and did the Dougie, first home game, for 34 seconds, he was a moron. It's the dumbest thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-cowherd/listen-when-john-wall-came-out-and-did-the-dougie-first-home-game-for/) [Colin Cowherd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-cowherd/) > [I was the first home-grown sex symbol, rather like Britain's naughty seaside postcards. When Marilyn Monroe's first film was shown here \[The Asphalt Jungle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-dors/i-was-the-first-home-grown-sex-symbol-rather-like-britain-s-naughty/) [Diana Dors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-dors/) [Browse all 38 First home quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-home/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“That was our first home. Before I felt like an island in an ocean, before Calcutta, before everything that followed. You know it wasn’t a home at first but just a shell. Nothing ostentatious but just a rented two-room affair, an unneeded corridor that ran alongside them, second hand cane furniture, cheap crockery, two leaking faucets, a dysfunctional doorbell, and a flight of stairs that led to, but ended just before the roof (one of the many idiosyncrasies of the house), secured by a sixteen garrison lock, and a balcony into which a mango tree’s branch had strayed. The house was in a building at least a hundred years old and looked out on a street and a tenement block across it. The colony, if you were to call it a colony, had no name. The house itself was seedy, decrepit, as though a safe-keeper of secrets and scandals. It had many entries and exits and it was possible to get lost in it. And in a particularly inspired stroke of whimsy architectural genius, it was almost invisible from the main road like H.G. Wells’ ‘Magic Shop’. As a result, we had great difficulty when we had to explain our address to people back home. It went somewhat like this, ‘... take the second one from the main road….and then right after turning left from Dhakeshwari, you will see a bird shop (unspecific like that, for it had no name either)… walk straight in and take the stairs at the end to go to the first floor, that’s where we dwell… but don’t press the bell, knock… and don't walk too close to the cages unless you want bird-hickeys…’’ ('Left from Dhakeshwari')”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kunal Sen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kunal-sen/that-was-our-first-home-before-i-felt-like-an-island-in-an-ocean/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "First home" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kunal-sen/that-was-our-first-home-before-i-felt-like-an-island-in-an-ocean/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/537/kunal-sen-25243_first-home_that-was-our-first-home-before-i-felt-li_1784601.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/537/kunal-sen-25243_first-home_that-was-our-first-home-before-i-felt-li_1784601.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/537/kunal-sen-25243_first-home_that-was-our-first-home-before-i-felt-li_1784601.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“That was our first home. 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