Summer Delight....

... For me should be these succulent, golden beauties. 

Drool Worthy aren't they!

I wonder thou if a large part  of this liking is due to the nostalgia I associate jackfruit with. You see, during school days, The only time I would get to feast on these lovelies were during the annual summer visits to our ancestral home in Kerala where the backyard was peppered with jackfruit trees. Half the fun then was the definite banter that would ensue among cousins to see who would get the larger share.  I hv a cousin bro, who would mark his share by licking on each(so that nobody else would touch it) n then leisurely eat his voluminous loot... Ho the cries of outrage that would follow tht! Those memories still bring a smile.

So famed is my love for jackfruit that for one of the Bdays I was gifted one large one - N mind u it wa slugged a good 25 kms on a bike. N I hv a family who will wake up at unearthly hours jus so that they can cut, deseed n pack it in neat boxes ready for me to carry it back to hyd n now Kerala :)

Linking this to A2Z challenge - S is for Summer delights!

A slice of Nalini's life ...

Take a trip along with me to late 60s into a temple town in Kerala....

In the town of Guruvayur, lived a girl 'Nalini' in her late teens. Just out of school, she was excited to start her college life. Her life was the idyllic  filled with the simple joys n innocence of a small-town 'temple town' life. She was bought up in a house full of strong ladies - her mom and two aunts as her father was a govt employee in the far away land of Andra(Ho! the distance of 1000 Km was indeed v far those days). Hers was the typical middle-child life - her mom had her hands full with the younger bro in  crucial class ten and the elder sister having given birth to the first grandson in family. So Nalini's time was spent frolicking with her maiden friends n pampering her little nephew - as picture perfect as it could get!

But(there is always a but) the good times didn't last - tragedy stuck n Nalini's father suddenly passed away! Our hardly eighteen year old Nalini had to become the bread winner of the family (Sister already married, Bro was still a school student). Overnight she finds herself in city of Hyderabad to take up her dad's job.

Now imagine being in her shoes - shes somebody who's never ever stepped out of Kerala, her medium of education (n well the only language she could comprehend) was Malayalam. This was the pre-TV, pre-internet era and her exposure was next to nothing! All of a sudden, she finds herself  in Hyderabad where  her job needed her to read n write Telugu, the food was a far cry from what her palette was used to n the room she called her house was smaller than the store room of her home back in Kerala....

Fast forward to 40 years later, Not only did she manage to master Telugu(thou the 40 years couldn't wipe the Malayalam accent :-P)  shes recognized today as one of the most valuable contributors in her department.

BTW 'Nalini' is none other than my mom :).

Ho what I wrote here is just icing on the cake - life threw many other googlies at her but she faced them all with her chin up - goes without saying that I never needed lessons on being a strong woman :).

Funnily thou, it took me more than 30 years to recognize my mom for the strong woman she is!

Written for As Beautiful As Your Work  as a part of Mia contest, for Womensweb

Linking this to AtoZ challenge - N is for 'Nalini'.!

The Tharvaadu Memories!

A blink-n-u-miss it hop n stop visit to ma home in Gvr @ Kerala! But the one thing tht won go off ma memory for sometime is the soul-satisfying trip to ma tharavadu(ancestral home) there... A place I got to linger around after almost a deacde... A home tht is almost dilapidated but still holds  my  happiest-n-most-precious childhood memories! Ha the joy of relieving them with ma hubbs, sis n little niece.........

The Memories  of stepping into the dark-n-dingy rooms that still holds the aromas of fav foods, Of long corridors where we cousins would huddle around my grandma as a Jackfruit was cut open (N the fight tht followed to get the bigger share), Of the ammi-kall(Grinding Stone) where the yummiest of the masalas were hand Pounded, Of the afternoons spent in picking the Mailanji( mehendi leaves) from your own backyard and making a paste n the best part of it all ~~ having ur cousin come up with magical designs that adorn ur hands, Of the Thulasi-Thara where the lamp was lit every eve as the holder chants 'Deepam Deepam', of the eve prayers tht were recited at break-neck speed to catch the next game of whatever, of the monsoon rains(rain in kerala hv a charm of their own), Of the  sooty kitchen where the food was prep over the firewood-coconut husks, of the afternoons spent in splitting open the cotton husks which made the fluffiest of pillows n beds........ Of knowing that you are loved ..... Haaa How I miss those days!



My Tharavade ~~  A place that holds  my  happiest-n-most-precious childhood memories



Pitter Patter Rain drops.......

Ho yeap I love the rains!! Ha but in neat sub-clauses is added 'Provided I am at home with a cup of hot tea,, a novel n something yum yum to bite on'!!!!

Ha the memories rain brings... of the summer vacations spent in my ancestral home in Kerala surrounded by greenery…… The images etched of the rain washing away the green leaves leaving them sparkling green, of the beautiful smell of earth as the first drops of rain hit it.... yummmmmmm!! Just a recollection of this leaves me with a feeling of warmth n happiness! The helter-skelter running around armed with vessels of all kinds n shapes which are duly places under all leaky corners of the roofs to ensure u don’t hv a flooded house(considering the house is 100+ years old) Must hv been a tiresome job 4 the elders but 4 us as kids...It was FUN… esp for a city bred girl like me this was a treat!!!! Poverty does have its share of joys! N of course the delightful Rain-time games…….anybody remembers those good old days of letting paper boats afloat in the rain water n the silly competitions of whose paper boat goes faster all in company of indulgent cousins older to u!!!!!!!! Ha my dear home u r missed... What I wouldnt give just to spend another vacation with you!!!

Possibly why I love my new flat a wee bit xtra(frankly there is nothing great about it.... its just ur practical, fancy-free flat built by a no-nonsense builder....phew!)... bang opposite it is a convent n open plot filled with my fav coconut trees(u c its synonymous with kerala 4 me which is in turn synonymous with happy memories) and on those rare occasions like yest eve when am home n its raining cats n dogs.... simply sitting in the balcony gawking at the coconut leaves swaying in rain, allowing the breeze to caress your face as you inhale the fresh smell of earth.... Bliss I say :). Ha n not to forget to add the hot tea n aloo baji(courtesy my hubbs dearest). N Well well as u grow the delightful rain-time games continue to be a delight but well  games this time around are let us just say different :-p. U say the pic isnt so v appetizing... well beggars cant be choosers :-D