One of the terrible ordeal of online teaching as a teacher, I experience is sitting coped in a chair for hours together and peering into the screen. The result : Knee pain and back ache. In one of those terrible days , I met a colleague of mine through gmeet happily squatting on the floor with a table and teaching. Memories flooded and I remembered the rambling house of my grandparents made of cemented flooring.

The floor served many purposes – it was both a dinning table and served as a bed for the noon nap. The floor never heated up during summers and was warm during winters. Every morning after it was swept and mopped it looked fresh and inviting for us cousins to sit together – play, read and chat merrily. Sitting crossed legged on the floor was also a good exercise for our thighs and for our spine. Squatting together as a family at dusk – gossiping about events and neighbors – bonding with friends and relatives – had brought us closer then. When we visited each other’s house, the house and heart of the host had enough space for everyone – there was no hierarchy when we sat together cross-legged on the floor – there were minimal furniture- so there was enough space for everyone of us to sit comfortably- there was a sense of togetherness. Infact, everyone was so comfortable sitting cross legged on the floor that we never judged each other on the material comforts we had – like sofa, modular kitchens. Women squatted on the floor of the kitchen carrying out their duties , talking and laughing that created a sense of belongingness and togetherness in the families.

Sad, that we have now, transitioned to marbles and tiles to beautify our homes and these are not user-friendly. To walk on these kind of flooring and avoid skidding, we need slippers/walking stick and what not. Though our new, chic, modern homes are lavish and petit – the flooring has made our harder lives even harder.

The joy of sitting on a cool , cemented floor, cross -legged – reading, chatting and having a cuppa is a lost legacy.