Where does it begin: home, neighbourhood, or the city? 

After experiencing a thought-provoking walk through the archival narratives of reforms from the Pattani Office to the professional exposure to Pattani Archives, one may find it striking to suddenly land in the midst of a family’s oral histories—intimate, personal, and deeply human . That’s how the journey of reading the archives was!

The stories got more imaginative as we engaged with the dynamics of the Pattani family, within the neighbourhood of Anantwadi, and amongst the diverse communities of the city. So much is not known or passed on. It felt right to dig deeper into the roots of the cultural custodianship, “Where did it begin?” A leader’s personality, a family’s way of life, the values reflected in the neighbourhood—there is no single answer to such a question! 

Rather, it would be right to say that the answer is not only invested in the chronology but in the cultural nuances of the events. So, the stories coming up next are unpacking many experiences of a ‘home, as an epitome of safe space’ that blur the lines between the personal and public. Each time we move from one house to another, we are left to wonder: what will be lost, and what will we leave behind?