Age, time and the Illusion of ownership

The Forum in Rome, which began as a marketplace in the 7th–6th centuries BCE, was once the centre of the known world and the site of victory parades and political power plays.

I find comments on a post and questions from the audience at a Q&A more interesting than the applause. Comments tell you what the reader carried away, and sometimes what they brought with them.

So it was that I found myself reading with great interest the comments on a recent article I wrote about my home and the unexpected history of the first owner it led me to.

Most wrote with nostalgia for a time that has irrevocably passed; some, like Jeanne, recalled growing up in a colonial bungalow; others mentioned visiting friends or simply admiring the buildings from afar. Their tone was wistful, and it was clear these readers were older.

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Then came a private comment from a 30-year-old friend, Abhijit, who said something different. “It was deeply meaningful to realise that the assets we take pride in outlast us, while names fade and ownership shifts. If no one remembers who came before, why do we place so much importance on materialism?”

There was no nostalgia in it because there was nothing yet to be nostalgic about. This reader saw the pattern: property outlasts its owners, names get replaced, and nobody asks. His question wasn’t “Why didn’t it last?”; it was “Why did we think it was ours?”

His comment resonated with me because history has shown us time and again the ephemeral nature of ownership.