Summer Vacation

Sometimes we want to slow down in life and unwind - chit - chat with family, call an old friend, enjoy the blooms in the garden or simply turn the pages of an old album. This was one such day when I crawled into the sofa after lunch. Spring was in full bloom ...... one could smell the flowers in the air, birds hopped and chirped and little kids played on the grass. I was also enjoying the sweet innocence of life.

I could hear the cacophony of me and my cousins in the courtyard of my grandparents house in Bhubaneswar. Exams were over and it was my summer break, a time for family re-union.

It was that time of the year when we (me and my younger sister) along with my cousins would visit my grandparents. Afternoon was the time when all of us would curl up to Aai (maternal grandmother) like kittens. It was story time !! Aai would read out stories from Hindu mythology to us till she dozed off.

All of us would sneak out slowly and tip toe to the terrace. We never felt the heat of the Sun or ever bothered about the sun burn or the tan . Soon we would be dragged down by my mom and put to sleep in the afternoons.

Evenings in Bhubaneswar used to be very pleasant. With the Sun going down one could feel the cool breeze and everything would cool down. It was the time to hog on ripe mangoes, watermelon and other summer fruits. Sometimes Aai would make ice creams at home by refrigerating milk mixed with Bournvita. I still relish it more than any fancy brand of ice cream today.

My husband woke me up with a cup of tea ........ I rubbed my eyes and realized that "Summer Vacation" was over !! Like always I never wanted that time to go by so quickly ......

I sipped the hot tea still cozy in my sofa as I watched small droplets of rain trickle down my window panes.