Inside Seema Sajdeh’s pre-partition Amritsar home: ‘Jaa rai hoon ghar se…’

The trip began with what Seema described as an essential Amritsar experience: indulging in local favourites such as kulchas and parathas. She and her family visited the iconic Kulcha Land before heading to their ancestral home.

Gardens, stone-paved spaces

The vlog offered viewers a rare look inside the family estate in Amritsar, which Seema revealed that it was built before Partition. Sharing memories tied to the property, she explained that her father was born and raised there and that the family frequently spent holidays at the house.

Spread over acres, the house features several gardens (Photo: Seema Sajdeh/YouTube)

“My father was born and brought up here. We used to go there for holidays,” she said, adding that her parents were also married at the property. She also spoke fondly about her grandmother, who transformed the gardens into a rose-filled space that earned recognition and prizes.

Seema Sajdeh shares childhood memories

Spread across acres, the house includes the main residence, staff quarters, gardens and open stone-paved spaces suited for family gatherings and outdoor games.

Family friend Abedin Sham, who accompanied them during the visit, expressed his long-term dream of restoring the property. “It is my lifelong dream to leave this business, leave my job, leave my troubles, and take my parents to Amritsar. I want to live there for the rest of my life,” he said.

Seema Sajdeh shares childhood memories in her ancestral home (Photo: Seema Sejdeh/YouTube)

Seema also revisited childhood memories, recalling summer visits where buckets of ice were added to coolers to escape the heat. The family later gathered indoors for a chaat party, with Seema jokingly apologising for their shared love of food.

Describing the experience, she concluded, “It was a sort of family bonding time.”

Sachin Gupta, an interior designer at Beyond Designs, explained that adding storytelling and emotional value to modern homes is important. He stressed that for designers, listening to the homeowner is crucial to add emotion to a space.

“Emotional value in design is not sentimentality. It is the result of listening very carefully to who a family is, and then creating spaces that feel like a natural extension of that identity. When you get it right, a home feels inevitable, as though it could not have been designed any other way, for any other family,” he said.