It's Summer Again!

April has always been a month to relish and cherish, for numerous reasons. Today we are in the first week of the seemingly hottest April. Travelling to Chennai by Mangalore - Chennai Express brings back memories of my own vacation and train journey, the difference being that we are travelling in opposite direction; and the vacation is no longer mine; I'm the parent now. 

Back in the 90s, planning for vacations began almost two months earlier. Getting the concession forms from school, booking train tickets, writing to my cousins about the D day of our arrival in Kerala were all part of the preparations. Those days our vacations were not about stay in resorts or chilling by the beachside. April brought along the long-awaited train journey, the chugging and rumbling sounds of the train wheels, the smell of rusted iron, hot air that blows through the non-AC sleeper compartments are all memories. Sitting in the AC compartment today, I miss the familar smell of train journey that seems to be lost somewhere in the AC vent. 

Those days while we carried our home-made chapathi-curry, we longed for the forbidden train food. Today as we order food, I think of my aunty's podhi-choru consisting of matta rice, coconut chamandhi and fish curry, that she packed for us on our return journey from Kerala. 

During on onward journey, we didn't have mobile phones and live train running stats apps to update our equally-excited cousins about where we reached. But they had the practice of hourly forecasting where our train would have reached. Once we alighted from the train, we rushed to our grandma's place. The smell of ripe mangoes, cashew fruits and jackfruits is the distinct aroma of summer vacations. 

We played in the sun, we played in the rain, and under the stars we played

We played in the sand, we played in the stream

We sat in the woods and prayed for the thunderstorms.

And when it began to pour, we sang out aloud

Hail Summer Vacations!

Our vacations are special because we played outdoors without complaining about the weather. Nor did we have snoopy parents who came around checking on us all the time. (I know how much my daughter would pray for one) But alas, today times are different and I remind myself I'm the parent. Our grandma, with her charming smile stays in my mind as an indelible memory. 

Those days are never going to come again, but I'm grateful for these small things that remind me of those golden carefree childhood days. I write it here to read when memory fades. I'm sure my cousins reading this will smile and think of the many secrets we share, the code words we still remember; but we cant ask for more. Lets hope our kids get to create such memories for themselves, or better ones that they will cherish.