THE OCTOBER SUN

THE OCTOBER SUN!

Today while sitting on the backseat of my car on the way to work, I closed my eyes and felt dazzled by the bright sun. It warmed by eye lids and face and through the closed eyes took me into a fuzzy, warm, orange corridor on a morning heralding winter in the city. The sun is quite a frenemy in this part of the world. On most days harsh, but on such morning it engulfed me with the warmth I feel when I place my hand into my partners and the largeness of the fist accommodates my tiny hand and the world feels ‘just’ again.

The hand fits well 20 yrs down too!

With this it brought memories of such warm mornings of our family vacations. My childhood calendar was clocked around our Family vacations. Every Diwali (October/November) we would have a week or so of complete bliss with our parents into a pre planned destination. Here we made memories of a lifetime.

Sarong in Goa, Tattoo on arm as a rebel teenager in Mahabaleshwar, the beautiful waterfall in Mussorie

As I breathe, I can remember the red sands of Mahabaleshwar. The train ride in Ooty. The sand dunes of Jaisalmer. The Amer Fort of Jaipur. The guided tours in all the palaces of Jodhpur. The cricket match we played with a bunch of foreigner friends in Ranthambore. 

The sand dunes in Jaisalmer

Amer fort on top left, Munnar tea gardens on top right, Boat ride in the middle of somewhere
Jodhpur Palace and Table land!

The boat ride in the silent back waters of Kumarakom. The first taste of Fenny(ewww!) with my teetotaler dad! To playing giant Chess match on the gardens of the Goa Resort. The beautiful starry night in Mussorie. The apple orchard in Manali. The elephant ride in Thekdi. The aarti by the Ganges in Haridwar. The rose chaddar in Dargah at Ajmer. The beautiful Diwali decoration in Nainithal. The firecracker show at the wonderful Umaid Bhawan palace where we stayed in Jodhpur. The magic show in Jantar Mantar to the belly dance in Dubai. The Singapore trip with it Animal Safari and the Jurong Bird Park.

The first Goa Visit

Cycling In Munnar Resort!

Perched somewhere up in Manali

The multiple vomitings up the slopes of Munnar and the severe asthma on the roads of Delhi (on way back from Mussoorie). The altitude sickness in Rohtang Pass, Manali and the backache after camel ride in Jodhpur. The urgent pee needs in a jungle or in misty highways or the total eclipse experienced while in the swimming pool in Goa!

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Potter's wheel in Udaipur

The boat ride in Kabini

The getting up on post Diwali morning and wishing each other Happy New Year( Gujarati New Year). The same Cashew sweet(Kaju Katli) packed by my mom from home, to celebrate New Year Morning, to dad and mine favourite Kharek (dried, salted Dates). The memory of how I felt so big, when me and my brother started sharing a seperate room on the holidays warms me up. We used to be reading our freshly bought book on the holidays and enjoy the evening opening up about our latest crushes to how school was so exciting.

We made memories!

We indulged into food and had huge meals, especially the morning buffet breakfasts. It makes me wonder if my tummy has atrophied since that time, as I can never eat so much quantity of food now. We swam in swanky swimming pools and had our brains running high with sugar! We laughed on most evenings when my dad would start talking for the umpteenth time about how he fell in love with ma. How wintry nights at hill stations came in so early and how we had a tight plan ready every morning still amazes me!

Now, that I am an adult and a mommie of 2, there is a role reversal and I have to behave to be a good planner instead of a trippy young child spoilt by their parents indulgences. To say that I miss those days is an understatement. Every time in life is different and similar in so many ways. Now as I start the Pre Diwali week of shopping and cooking and decorating, I remind myself that whatever I do I have to make sure of giving my kids a fuzzy, warm memory that they will feel one day sitting in a car to work!