What does a house represent? Is it a dwelling, a residence or simply a place defined by the physical structure? These questions remain pertinent to anthropological writings on house and home, marked by the constituents of the two and their cross-cultural understandings. Now, what happens, when one needs to (re)build a house entirely, not by choice but following the demolition orders of the state? This paper investigates the situations faced by families living by roadsides of the 37 National Highway (old) in the state of Assam India. This route is undergoing massive expansion following the government’s push for infrastructural development in Northeast India. Since 2014, National Highways (hereafter NH) are being upgraded to Four Lane as a part of road infrastructure development in the NE region. This paper conjoint varied narratives of families and weaves together memories of the old house, its demolition, the felt loss, and the challenges of making a new one. Roadways development promises modernity and development, better connectivity and an assuring future; however, the undertakings of the roadside settlers in the wake of progress signals a temporal sense of placement fraught with threats of displacements and host of other insecurities. By collecting the narratives on the old houses, the paper highlights how the families remember the first day of demolition and offer tribute in their own ways? How difficult was it to say adieu - a subjective feeling now wrapped in photographs, anecdotes and the most memorable family events/occasions and the time spent across generations. How do the families negotiate between development and everydayness? The paper examines how tensions emerge within families due to the process of making a new house and a home.
