The traditional multi-storey property in Srinagar shows visible signs of age, including faded paint, worn timber, cracked plaster, and sagging wooden beams

Kunal Kemmu's sister Karishma Khemu took an emotional trip down memory lane as she and her family revisited her ancestral home in Kashmir, decades after they were forced to leave the house. Taking to Instagram, Karishma shared a nostalgic house tour of the huge bungalow.

Karishma walked us through the old house as her mother pointed out the rooms that once held cherished family memories. “Jo ek raat me chhodna padha tha aaj saalo baad hum phirse unn Srinagar ki galiyon me se hote huye ghar ki daheleez tak pahaunch gaye (What we had to leave behind in one night..today, years later, we are walking through the streets of Srinagar and visiting our house),” Karishma said in the video.

The traditional multi-storey house shows visible signs of age, including faded paint, worn timber, cracked plaster, and sagging wooden beams. The top floor features a wooden hanging balcony supported by carved wooden pillars and decorative railings. The middle floors showcase exposed stone masonry contrasted by dark brown wooden window frames and shutters. Among the numerous wooden window frames, some are open, revealing curtains, while others appear weathered.

The ground level of the house is finished with plaster, creating a contrast with the exposed masonry above. It includes large wooden doors and windows. “When we got married, we used to sleep on the upper floor of the house,” Karishma's mother said. Pointing towards different sections of the home, Karishma shared, “This was my mom's room. Dad used to study here...we used to sit here. Every room is a childhood memory.” Her mother recalled, “My sister had once fallen from these staircases.”

Karishma further revealed that the one sprawling family home has now been divided into small rented units. “This house is now divided into rooms. Each room is someone's home on rent,” she shared, adding that there was no electricity on the staircase and most of the rooms remained locked.

Kunal Kemmu was born in Srinagar before his family migrated from the valley and came to Mumbai when he was only six and a half years old.