~Smiles~ Unlimited!!

Kavya wanted me to write eight things that I loved about summer, so here goes a mediocre attempt....

I spent my childhood in boarding school, so coming home for holidays was something I used to look forward big time. Summer Holidays were certainly special as they meant NO School for two and half months!! They also meant 2 1/2 months of non-stop fun, long days filled with pure joy and excitement. Like every desi baccha on the block, I used to spend a part of the Summer Vacation at my Grandparent's (Nani Ma's) place where my chacha's, chachi's, maama's, maami's and cousins would descend too. .... Ahhhh those were the days...climbing trees, running across the fields, plucking stuff from the fields and getting into trouble, all cousins together with elder ones teasing the younger ones, playing games till late night, being pampered by Grandparents... Ooh.. undoubtedly the best times of my childhood!!! (*Sniff sniff.. I miss those days!!*)

Summer Nights - I miss those summer nights where we used to have our cots out in the open under the sky and doze off to sleep listening to all the princess stories told by my Granny. Those nights never seemed long enough.. Falling asleep watching the sky brightened by the moon and stars and waking up when the golden rays of sunshine caress my face upon sun's awakening and to the sounds of the birds chirping early in the morning… absolutely priceless!!
I still love to wake up early in the morning to witness the glowing beauty of the rising sun. There is something special in the sunrise…watching the world wake, as the veil of darkness lifts is astounding.

Jhoola – Grandma's house had a cool jhoola. After my tummy was filled to its capacity with the scrumptious food. I used to hop on to that whiling away the time just swinging, reading, silly talks, short naps, and so much more...it is the best place for a nap…seriously, taking a nap while gently swinging, simply amazing I tell you...

Food - Being the favorite of Grandpa, I had lots of perks in the house, got all the attention, not to mention the butter and all goodies. It wasn’t too difficult to coax my aunts into a deliriously happy mood that they rushed in to make sweets especially for me. My granny is full of enthusiasm and also an amazing cook, she used to make all the sweets I love. Some of her 'surprise' treats were not always the tastiest, but she would insist that they were good for our health and is brain food to do all the hardwork at school.

Sharbath (Nimbu Paani) – To beat the sweltering heat, there was a late afternoon ritual to have Sharbath, a cool thirst-quenching refreshing drink. My mom makes the best sharbath, she used to say that it helps in not only keeping us cool and healthy but also brings out that shine to our skin and glow to the face. I remember having litres of lemon juice during summers. I still love freshly squeezed limejuice.

Comics – Being the book-worm I was, I tremendously enjoyed reading Amar Chitra Katha, not to mention Chandamama, Tinkle and likes... I used to love stories, (reading, listening..whateva) Reader's Digest, Archies, Enid Blyton, Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, the list goes on…I used to read even when the power went off with torchlight or a lamp and would end up being growled at by Mom.

Bandi ke Baraf golas - I miss those yum treats. Best part of the summer was to eat the tanda icekrots in the scorching heat from the ghooming bandies. We used to have them quite often in the afternoons chup chupke from the elders as that was a big NO NO(not hygenic )... Ignorance is certainly a bliss, never really bothered about what involved in making them, all that mattered was we love them so we gotta have them.

Mangoes – Of course Mangoes, who wouldn't miss those yummy, juicy mangoes..I remember Dad bringing gazillions of Mangoes for us that the whole house used to smell of Mangoes. That was a treat for us to relish after lunch… Aaahhh I want to eat them now..

Lazy evenings – We would wind down too with the sun set, settling down to play some board games like Chess, Ludo, Snakes and ladders or cards (I was a queen of Rummy in those days) feeding off some snacks. We talked about school, discussing our plans for future and what not ..

Thanks for the tag Kavya!! Hamari bhi kuch sair hogayi un yaadon ki galion mein...