This entire week, I was planning on writing about my recent family getaway in this post. But just a second ago, new decisions were made. The nostu(nostalgic self) in me was lured out by the words of Anita Desai uttered in an interview I just finished watching.
The interviewer remarked that the Indian heat almost felt like a character in her novels, to which Anita Desai affirmed its significance by saying how she had spent many daylight hours in the shade, reading and writing, as the heat outside compelled them to stay indoors. It is a heartwarming scene that resonates with all Indian readers.
While reminiscing with Desai's fond memories, I happened to look down at the tile of my current residence. The mosaic flooring.
It's a piece of home. Of memories and summer vacations spent in grandparents' house. Yes, my paternal grandmother's house had this style of flooring, and I've spent many afternoons reading book after book crouched on them. When the rest of the family took their afternoon nap, I devoured books. The comfortable, rhythmic sound of the fan and the cawings from the window became my only connection to this world as I explored Narnia and followed Harry, Ron, and Hermione through the corridors of Hogwarts.
The afternoon scene is incomplete without certain other articles. The Chaarukaseera, the wooden easy chair, is usually occupied by the elders in the house and taken over by us kiddies when the adults rest. If it is placed on the veranda, with the cool breeze making mango leaves dance in the boughs, then it's likely that you're sleeping behind the book.
Talking about sleep, we also have the bamboo stick swing chair, which is the best to curl up and get drowsy... almost a cradle experience!
As wonderful as all these solo enjoyments are, there is a limit to how long a kid can stay still. They restlessly wait for the others to wake up, especially the grandmother, who would send them out to buy milk or evening snacks with a few extra pennies for toffee or sip ups. You offer a smug smile to your sighing parents, flaunting your privilege, and run off to the stop before they try to change grandma's mind.
I can go on turning the pages and reading out many fond memories. But I'll keep those for later, in the hopes of finding keys in the present to unlock the moments from the past.
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