As we know, every human being needs food, clothing, and
shelter, which are the basic necessities of life. This article is all about how
shelter or our homes has evolved since the earliest man started living in the
caves, and their importance in the future.
From a modest beginning of sheltering man from the vagaries
of outside weather, our homes have evolved substantially over the last few
centuries to attain a significant level of importance in our lives. In the
agricultural age, man started acquiring land for farming activities and he
would have his small house in the same land, so that he could rest and sleep
the night after a hard day in the farms. As man became more affluent and
wealthy, he acquired larger tracts of land and built houses according to his
rich tastes and importance. In the industrial age, men started moving to cities
and acquired and built houses with a neighborhood. Social calls and
invitations became common as people started inviting each other to their homes.
In ancient India, joint families became common because of large ancestral homes
where the entire family stayed and bonded together. In the electronic age, our
homes provided us entertainment and comfort through the widespread use of
televisions, radios, refrigerator, and washing machines. As families became
nuclear, our houses provided us the private space to relax and pursue our
individual interests. Through the widespread use of home phones, we can talk to
and be touch with family, friends, and distant relatives, right from the
comfort of our homes.
In the modern information age (or Internet) age, our homes
are at the center of our existence. From ordering our groceries, entertaining
ourselves with the television and the computer, and pursuing individual interests
like gardening, playing a guitar, and home decorations, our home is rightly
where our heart (and all the action) is. With home schooling and virtual
working (from home) on the constant rise, current homes provide a comfortable and
safe environment to realize our potential. While women still dominate the home
maker space, today’s man does not hesitate to stay at home to either be a
stay-at-home dad or to convert his home space into an office. This is also a
convenient trend among nuclear families, where parents do not have the support
system for their children in their absence.
An increasing number of companies are willing to allow their
employees to work from their homes, as this saves them the business cost of
providing office space. With regards to home schooling, the current education
system is increasingly unable to provide quality education to all students.
With home schooling and distant education, students can learn from the comforts
of their home at their own pace, and at the same time, not compromise on their
academic future.
With advances in technology providing us smart, intelligent,
and green homes, are future homes going to be self-sufficient in providing us
much more than shelter, education, workplace, and entertainment? Going by the
huge improvements, it sure looks likely.
Here’s looking forward to making our homes our own complete
hangout for everything.
