summers

I just got back from meeting my dearest freind nishath and her little baby boy Ayaan, who are here on thier annual vacation. As I entered I took in the sights of grandparents indulging their grandson, while the nishu takes her break from her normal routine and makes time to catch up with her family & freinds, brings back memories of the summer ritual of the good ole days.

I am talking about the time when there was no cable but only doordarshan that used to show chitrhaar and grimm brothers fairy tales on sunday morning, a time where there was no internet but people to interact with, no x-boxes but outdoor games like lock&key, 7 stones, police robber.. and the list goes on.... I am talking about the time when I was in school and summer for us meant going on a bus trip to coorg and staying with your grandparents with all your cousins and aunts in tow.

I have memories of being the youngest of the lot everywhere and therefore not really counted for any of the games (because i could never keep up) yet pampered enough to feel special. I have always loved being part of an amazing brotherhood of cousins where playing, eating, exploring and catching up on various exaggerated adventures were part of the summer experience.

I learnt to blow bubbles from a fencing plant, to stay quiet while trying to fish, to stomp your legs while exloring the wilderness incase of snakes, to relish fruits straight from the tree esp jamoon which was my all time favorite and most of all i relaize now how lucky we were to be able to experience that.

collage, career, marraige, kids and life in general made us not meet every other summer, but thanks to all those summers of exchanging nightly ghost stories, of the anger and fights and easy banter, our bond is strong enough to withstand time and distance and we always, always will have "the good old days" between us.