Not a Soul in Sight.

Credit: @Prashansa Chakrata, Uttarakhand 2015

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#HousesOfIndia Story 15 - Legacy

Rapid, and often uncontrolled urbanisation is fast creeping into small cities across the country. Traditional local architectural styles and designs are being replaced by monotonous multi-storied buildings. Which is why Moni Villa in Darjeeling stands out like a beacon of light!

Much like Mr. Fredricksen's refusal to give up his childhood home surrounded by a sea of high-rises in the Disney movie 'Up', the Lenying family have held fast to their ancestral house, and maintained it in its old cottage style. Of Chinese descent, the family moved to Darjeeling from Calcutta. Currently, the house is occupied and maintained by 2 of the 6 sisters - Yong and Lee.

    

Yong Pradhan and Lee Lenying are two of the six sisters in the family who now live in Moni Villa. Their father bought it after moving here from Calcutta, but he unfortunately died soon after.

Pictured here, is the younger of the sisters - Yong. While Lee makes the sausages, Yong works as a local teacher and mentors outstation students. 

The six girls were brought up by their mother, who worked very hard to give her children the best education. Four of the sisters are now settled elsewhere, while Yong and Lee live in this house. 

Apart from their beautiful house, the sisters are also well know in the neighbourhood for one other reason.

Yong and Lee’s mother passed down a secret family recipe to them for ‘Chinese sausages’ - a recipe the sisters have perfected, and now sell to locals. Part of the house has been converted to a makeshift restaurant with a table and two benches, where they serve the delicious sausages with the trademark chili-tomato paste, and of course a warm cup of tea. 

This Photo Essay was made exclusively for Housing.com for their campaign 'Houses of India'.

#HousesOfIndia Story 13 - Retreat

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.

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.

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'.