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| K & me outside ‘The House,’ May ’24 |
“Did you get to go inside the house,” asked many when I posted pictures of K and me standing outside it. This was not any house. It was the house in Canterbury that I lived in after I was born. Fifty years and three months back.
I did not regret going inside as I had done so when I visited Canterbury in 2013. That trip was about discovery and reflection. It was an attempt to understand my roots. To get to know my father a bit better by trying to retrace his steps. I had lost him 41 years back when I was just 9.
I went to Canterbury from London by train that day. I first went to the hospital where my dad worked and where I was born. I met a kind chaplain there who showed me the way to our old house. ‘This is the path your father would have taken to work every day,” he said. I walked down the path to the house.
3 The Gap said the board outside it. The address had been imprinted in my memory ever since I can remember. I had heard of our stories from when we lived there. Seen sepia-tinted photographs from then in family albums. I always thought of myself as a ‘Canterbury baby.’ It is hard to explain why. Perhaps because my parents used to call me that.
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| Outside the house, 201 |
This time’s visit was different. I was not alone. K was with me. While I was a tad pensive last time around, this time I was happy and excited. I had wanted to take her to the house someday. That day had finally come!
We missed our train from London as I had miscalculated the Underground route from our hotel to the station. It was past 2 pm by the time we reached. I suggested going to the Cathedral before closing hours. I thought K would like to see it. I missed seeing the cathedral from inside the previous time as it was shut by the time I reached it. My mum had said that I should have seen it but that was not the focus of my previous trip. I was on a different sort of pilgrimage then.
“The house is not running away,” I told K with a smile on my face. My joie de vivre rubbed onto her and seemed to wipe off her irritation at having missed the train.
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| The approach to the Canterbury Cathedral |
We walked down a road dotted with cafes, restaurants, pubs and shops to the Cathedral Cathedral. Canterbury is a university town now. It is busier and multi-racial compared to when we were there in the 70s I suppose.
We bought entry tickets when we reached the cathedral gates and walked in. The serenity of the cathedral felt very welcoming after the action-packed day that we had till then. I thought of my parents and their visits to the cathedral. They were newly married. Living in the UK was new to my mum. Did visiting the cathedral make them feel at peace?
K and I stopped at the Canterbury Cathedral gift shop on the way out. I spotted several cat-themed memorabilia. I asked the gentleman at the cash counter if there was significance to it. He said that it could be so because cats traditionally lived in the Cathedral grounds but that there was so specific significance to it. I later googled and saw that 3 of the Canterbury Cathedral cats had gone viral during the Covid 19 lockdown with their funny antics with the vicar. Canterbury Cathedral and its cats complemented each other it seemed.
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| Thinking of the time when my parents would have visited the cathedral |
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| Canterbury Cathedral grounds which are home to its cats |
K spotted a cat cafe just outside the Cathedral gate. It was called Canterbury Tails Cat Cafe. We went there and spent a rather happy hour with the 28 cats there, 24 of whom were rescues. It was a well maintained, neat and tidy place. You paid an entry fee to go in and could stay for an hour. You could order food and drinks from the cafe if you like. You would find cats resting on the sofas, chairs, bannisters and cat perches. There was a provision for them to go to the upper two floors, which were private, for times when they had had enough of being with humans. If you are a cat lover then this would be your idea of heaven. They have a small shop and we bought collars for the boys and K bought cat themed socks. The cats are looked after by ‘cat nannies’ in the cafe. Local students who love cats and who work here.
The cat cafe turned one a few days after we visited it. K jokingly said that it was as if my dad had come back and opened the cafe knowing that his baby would be coming to Canterbury.
My mum told me that she and my dad had stopped with me at the Cathedral on the way home from the hospital after I was born. Given the special treatment which cats get both inside and outside the Cathedral, I won’t be surprised if my love for cats dates back to when I was a newborn here!
We walked down to the bus depot from the cathedral and took a bus to the Kent Cricket Club which was the bus stop for ‘our house.’ I remember my dad saying that Derek Underwood, the English test match cricketer from Kent, was his friend. I looked at the grounds and imagined them having caught up there. K and I walked down the final stretch to the house. The path was quiet, save the chirping of birds, and had trees on both sides.
“We are at the house and Kalyan is very emotional,” messaged K to the folks back home when we reached. The current owner of the house happened to be outside the house. He greeted us with a warm smile. My aunt had gone there a year back and met him. He connected the dots when he saw K and me. He welcomed us warmly and invited us to look around and spend as much time as he wanted. He apologised for being in a hurry but offered to take pictures for us before he left. I later learnt that he is a fireman. Hopefully, he was off duty that afternoon!
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| With Ben, the current owner of the house.” I silently told the house, “the baby that you once knew has grown up and is married. His wife has come to say hi to you.”“You will remain the ‘Canterbury baby’ of 3 The Gap, no matter how old you become,” it seemed to say in response. |
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| The baby is back, on May ’24 |
I video called my mother. She told me to turn the camera to different angles as she relived distant memories.
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| K took a candid shot of me video calling my mum |
K and I headed back for London once I was done. We did not get a bus. We walked back to the station. We got on a train packed with university folks heading back to London.
K is convinced that we will go back again someday. She said that the connection between the house and me is very deep. What do you think?
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| Hope to meet you again someday Mr House |
M
PS: The headline is inspired by and dedicated to the Canterbury Tails Cat Cafe of Canterbury. Here’s their Instagram handle.
Also read:
My blog post on my previous visit to Canterbury.
This is Mother’s blog post on the house.
