but here the reference is to the great summer vacations i used to have during my childhood.
the post originated as a comment on one of my friend's blogpost. but then given its length, it seemed more like a blogpost than a comment. so i thought that i shud be putting it down on my blog as well. vaise bhi, its been long since i posted anything. partially coz i was busy n partially coz i was feigning to be busy. god knows whom am i fooling...
so here is the post -
reminds me of my summer vacation. though never thought of penning it down. but now that ur post has sent me down the memory lane, i have to do it...
the most memorable bit of our vacations in kerala cud probably be raw mangoes soaked in brine solution.all 7 of us wud relish them equally. my daadi wud prepare it in such a way that it wud be ready by the time we wud reach for our vacations. n we wud have them at the terrace stealthily during afternoons when everyone was fast asleep. it used to be too concentrated a brine solutin, not fit for direct consumption. it used to be so tempting that we cud not wait for the day a gravy wud be made form it. we wud just cut it, add red chilly powder, salt and coconut oil and there it was - ready to be eaten, the smallest of the pieces worth being fought for.
- then there were sessions of palying cards - bluff being our favourite game. 4 sets of playing cards n still the game wud not go beyond half an hour. at times it wud come to a natural end or else more often it wud end up in an argument followed by sulking and silent treatments. patchup wud happen mostly at times of meals - all the kids first, on the floor, with the super cool n convenient banana leaves as plates. i used to be the odd one out with nothing non vegetarian in my plate. my daadi wud then fry eggs exclusively of the 'brahmin child' of the clan, which made me feel special. she always wondered how cud a child grow 'strong and big' without eating non veg. guess we have no other option but to grow - with or sans non veg food.
- next, our evening strolls down the lane. we wud collect henna leave which people wud grow as hedges along the boundary walls of their houses. then all of us wud help our girl cousins in applying the henna on their hands in odd geometric and abstract designs. alternatively we wud go for a walk in the fields, careful enough not to spoil the standing crop, collecting snail shell ( i dont knw how they found their way to the paddy fields)
- i remember the swing our grandfather wud tie on the mango tree for us to play. as a beta test my one of my heathiest cousin wud be made to try out whether is was good for the lighter version of his grandchildren.
- each of us had a coconut trees of our own in the backyard garden ,which we wud take care during our annual trips, comparing who's was the tallest / strongest.
- the visits to our small pineapple farm, plucking a couple of them n see our grandfather skin it and cut it for us. more often then not, we wud finish it by the time the last slice of the pineapple was cut. something similar used to be case with ripe jackfruit, fruit of cashew nut, things i had never seen in delhi.
- making toys with coconut leaves. just loved them. equally interesting were the attempts by us to climb the coconut tree.
- during evening tea time we wud be treated to kerala speical snacks - numerous varieties of appams, tapioca / banana / jackfruit chips et al. cooked in coconut oil, we wud relish them till the last bit left in the bowl.
- other things, for which i am at a loss of memory.
i guess memories of visiting our grand parents always have a special place in the human mind. my dad still recollects his childhood stays at his grandparents.
