Ghoom is a small town sitting pretty on the hills slightly higher than Darjeeling. Here, the air is always cold, the smell is always fresh, and the view is always magnificent. This is home to Mr. Birendra Pai, a retired soldier who served in the Indian Army for around 15 years. He lives a peaceful post-Army life here with his wife Matrika, a homemaker, and son Maka, a BBA graduate and a footballer.
Mr. Rai is a proud army man who served in the 11 Gorkha Rifles. Like him, there are many veterans that stay in this part of the state after they retire. After Mr. Rai left the Army in 1988, he built this house to settle into a more idyllic life.
Gardening is a favourite passtime of the residents in this part of the country, and Mr. Rai's house is no different. While the exterior of the house is almost completely dotted with potted plants, they also have a big nursery in front of the house with rows upon rows of small flowering plants.
This Photo Essay was made exclusively for Housing.com for their campaign 'Houses of India'.
While recounting his army days, Mr. Rai remembers the time his battalion was called to serve towards the end of the 1962 Sino Indian War - a difficult war fought between India and China at very high altitudes in the Himalayas. However, by the time their battalion could actually move, a ceasefire was declared.
Now Mr. Rai spends his days reading the morning paper, tending to his plants, and basking in the peace he deserves, after serving his country for close to 2 decades.
This is the living room inside Mr. Rai's house. Like most houses in the area, it is modestly furnished, homely and very cozy. The room itself is barely 10 feet by 6!
The typical arched roof, characteristic of houses in Darjeeling, gives the home a feeling of an era gone by.
This Photo Essay was made exclusively for Housing.com for their campaign 'Houses of India'.