India, Oct. 20 -- We often think emotional ties belong only to people - family, friends, even pets. But sometimes, quietly and unexpectedly, a bond forms with the things that simply stay - familiar, constant, and always present.

Like a grandmother's hand-knitted sweater, a dented bronze (kanse da) glass once brimming with sweet lassi on sweltering summer afternoons, an antique key-wound wall clock faithfully marking the hours, a gramophone humming golden melodies, or a rotary phone crackling with faraway voices - each one a gentle echo of a time, a rhythm, a culture we belonged to. These aren't just objects, they're time capsules. And sometimes, they become companions.

In my case, it was a 46-inch television. It never spoke yet it knew ...