Summertime...

Its summer here...unmistakably hot,sweaty,glorious summer.Summer with its lo.o.ong days and even longer evenings. Evenings that seem to hang on ...reluctant to let go and letting the night take over. Nights that creep in stealthily,silently....ready to flee as the early morning sun peeps through. And then again the day takes control....

I love the summer season...have always loved it. Right from the time when the first day of the summer vacation meant the last day of school...and two months of no studies and endless fun ahead. When summer meant endless rounds of ice-cold Rooh-afza ,playing carrom during the day and satolia during the evenings on Ajmer's dusty bylanes. When summer meant those exciting train rides on Kalka Mail for our once-in-two years trips to Kolkata to visit our cousins.

I loved the summer times even when the loos blowing outside on Nagpur's roads forced most but the fearless to stay inside. When summer meant the start of tuition classes for the all-important HSSC exams.When there were no classes in Medical school,but we would go for our clinics...in the Surgery wards that were barely cooled by a groaning,ancient water cooler.

The years keep passing by...But I still love summer. When I can go out with Shonu on leisurely walks in the park. When Hiya can run outside and excitedly scream 'Brishti'as the sprinklers try to bring life to lawns baked by a surprisingly torrid Minnesota sun. When I can sit outside on my patio and enjoy endless rounds of Caprisun and green tea.



I love summer...for its warmth,its indescribable sense of freedom,its vigor,its boundless energy,its glorious days,its wonderful memories....

I love summer.....

Musings.....

"So,how was your India trip?".....I have answered this question so.oo..oo many times in the past few days that now my reply sounds rehearsed.

But then...how can one really describe a visit to one's home?I can talk about Nagpur's surprisingly short summer or Mumbai's troublesome humidity,can go on and on about the current fashion trends hitting india's roads,ramble on about how heartbreakingly beautiful Kajol looked in Fanaa,and spend a weekend discussing rising prices in India.But there was so much more to this trip.

This trip was more about Hiya getting to know her grandparents..and they in turn getting to spend some time with her.Heartbreaking as it was to see how Ma-Baba would try to spend each and every moment with her,almost trying to engrave those moments in their memories.....atleast they had the satisfaction of being able to see her at this very cute stage of hers.They loved to watch her antics,were enthralled by her newly acqired,ever- increasing vocabulary....and simply couldnt hug or hold her enough.

This trip was also about that last visit to the house at Dum-dum park.And I cannot imagine that by my next visit....this magnificent house that had been the setting for endless family functions and gatherings will have been torn down and replaced by a soulless block of apartments.But somehow...the house itself seemed to know that its days are numbered.Somehow,with Bhalo dida passing away...the spirit of this wonderful house has also passed on.It looked almost forlorn-its once well-kept gardens now run over by weeds,the dining room that boasted of countless dinner guests now sadly gloomy....the once sparkling washrooms now neglected and run-down.

And Titi.. who organised those gatherings,was the life and soul of all the weddings and functions,the person who embodied the very spirit of that magnificent house....seems to have wilted away too...like the house.Where did her infectious smile disappear,where did her spirit go?Time and circumstances have seemingly left us with only a shell of her former self.

And of course...there is that endless cycle of Life that goes on.I watched with a heavy heart,as Amma's once sprightly steps have slowed down and the twinkle in her eyes is no longer that bright....though she is joyously awaiting the pitter-patter of little feet,the baby that will bring Life to a full circle.