I woke up to the sound of the rooster announcing a new day. As I rubbed my eyes and sat up in bed, I could hear the sivastuthi from the neighboring temple. There wasn’t a lot of light yet, but I knew it would get brighter soon. I saw my sister still peacefully asleep, and without further ado, took my pillow and pummeled her with it, waking her up. She woke up with a start, and seeing me with the pillow, took up her own and retaliated. Soon, we were rolling on the floor, laughing heartily, as our grandmother came in, hearing the noise we had made.
“Started fighting already? It’s not even seven in the morning,” she said, a twinkle in her eye and trying to control her laughter.
We grinned back, and she pushed us out the door, and to start our morning chores. She also took the bucket with the soiled clothes from beside the bed, heading off to wash them.
“The sooner they are washed, the more time they’ll get to dry,” she would say every time we asked her.
The weather in Kerala was definitely hot, but my sister and I didn’t mind. We didn’t have many relatives to play with outside, so we had come from the cooler climes of Bangalore armed with board games and audio cassettes to listen on our walkman.
After our morning chores, we found Ammamma still outside. She was scrubbing away at the white shirt I had worn yesterday, and Aathira’s pale cream skirt. Looking closer as we avoided the splashing soap bubbles, we found the orange stains from the mango we had had last night. She saw us staring at it and smiled, continuing to attack it with the brush and then hit it against the stone in front of her.
“You two go play. This will take a while,” she said.
It was eleven when Ammamma came to our room, holding a plate. It had three juicy mangoes, uncut. She sat on the floor next to us and watched us play Monopoly. She didn’t understand the game, though we had tried to explain to her earlier.
“Ammamma,” I started. I looked at Aathira, who nodded.
“Can you cut the mangoes please?”
She was surprised at my request, knowing well that we both enjoyed having it the usual way.
“If we have it cut, then we wouldn’t spill onto our clothes,” added Aathira.
Ammamma laughed. She just handed the mangoes to us.
“My naughty little ones, do not worry so much about Ammamma, or your clothes,” she told. “The stains will go away with scrubbing, and it is okay even if they do not. You will not be children always. This is the time to have fun. Mangoes, cut up, are fine. But it’s fun when you squeeze the juice free by softly squishing them, then bite a hole and drink it. And then gnaw away the flesh from the skin of course. Come on now. No more sulking. I become a kid when I am with the two of you.”
We gave her a hug together, sitting on either side of her. Then she took a mango too. We started squeezing the mangoes slowly till the juice came inside, and then bit a hole near the top. We saw the juice dripping from Ammamma’s chin as she ate hers, not worrying about stains on her white saree. We happily did the same.
Outside, the sun beat down on the world heavily. Inside, the three of us sat happily, listening to songs, sharing stories from school and of course, enjoying the sweet taste of summer.
*sivastuthi: devotional songs in praise of Lord Shiva
*Ammamma: maternal grandmother
Not writing is sometimes an epidemic one that spreads and takes you down for good. To counter this virus, Bhavs and I have decided to blog on the same theme every Sunday. Today we are writing a fictional piece on a favourite food memory. Feeling inspired? We’d love to read your point of view as well.
(© Vinay Leo R. @ I Rhyme Without Reason,
16th July, 2017)
Vacation check
Siblings check
Grandma check
Hehe…. Loved this sweet story. And what a wise grandma. We should enjoy life as it comes and not worry too much. For these will be the very things we will smile about later in life.
(Bhavya recently posted… Vacation)
Yes I know. Lots of checks. 😉 We sync in summer vacations too, eh? 😛
Glad you loved the sweet story and the wise grandma! 😀 Those evocative memories do make such a difference later on, alle Ishi?
Wow! You’ve brought back the flavors of my childhood, with this lovely story. Very simple, yet, so evocative. ?
Those memories are so close to the heart, Apeksha, that they become evocative unexpectedly! 😀 Glad you could relate!
Wonderful piece of fiction, Vinay! I was almost transported to my own childhood and could feel the taste of ripe juicy mangoes as we used to have them back then. The bond we share with grandparents is probably the best, I feel— something that I sorely miss nowadays, as a grown up.
Yeah. 🙂 That bond with grandparents is a wonderful one, and remembering those memories automatically transports me back to childhood, Esha. 😀 Glad it almost did the same for you. Thank you so much.
So simple and so sweet!
Thank you, Sunita. 🙂
What a comeback, Vinay! Loved the story. Great imagery, nice characterization and a really ‘summer’ story! Keep writing!
(Sreedeep recently posted… #AtoZChallenge – Letter Z – Zeba)
Glad you liked the story, Sreedeep. 🙂 Thank you so much.
Ahh the beauty and simplicity of life back then. Absolutely loved the feel of the story.
(Rajlakshmi recently posted… Skincare: How I Sherlock’ed my Acne !)
Yes. Childhood was an amazing time, for sure. Thank you, Raji.
Beautiful!
(Sheethal recently posted… Kindness – A boomerang Effect.)
Glad you felt so, SSJ.
Awww, such a cute story! I just want to go back to my childhood, and stay there!
Yes. I know that feeling, Shilpa. 🙂
Lovely lesson on staying in tune with nature, and with having fun– which we do the most when we reach out with our hands and mouth and all our senses.
(Damyanti recently posted… Blogspot Friends, Could You Help Make it Easy for Us to Stay in Touch? #Blogging)
Thank you, Damyanti.
It reminded me of my childhood Vinay. Looks like you penned one of the evenings from my childhood. I still eat Mango the same way though miss the love and laughter of my grandparents.
(Kavita Singh recently posted… Let Them Fall And Learn…)
I eat it like that at times, though not always, Kavita. 🙂 I miss a part of that laughter, yes!