Holidaying, or holiday: this essence I experienced to my heart's content a week and half ago when my cousin alongwith his family paid a visit to my place and intended staying with me. The centre of attraction was his little daughter who glued everyone to her innocent talks, and self created games. Lived a life, and enjoyed a splendid holiday myself too, after a long long time with all the gupshup, home made foods, small fights round table conference and to top it up all, the cute little one's photoshoot and telephonic technology. I really appreciate my cousin brother's decision to stay with me and spent his time with us, instead of putting up into luxurious hotels. The real meaning of holiday, hope, he too might have experienced it the way I felt.
Penning down some memories of my childhood holidays...taking you all once again to my memory lane.
As the title suggests Holiday and holidaying were not specific or weren't planned Holidays in those days. To us holiday meant spending time with your loved ones..... your grandparents, your cousins. It was never a planned holiday; staying in hotels, going through the brochure, exploring the places of sightseeing etc., wasn't our affair. It was just holiday; to be far away from school, from home, from city and off course from the daily routines. We all eagerly waited, the whole year, for this moment of ours, to our native place, Kerela, where our grand parents lived. It was a real bliss being there, the whole one month. Yes a whole month. Summer holidays....
I don't know whether it was the magic of that era or whether the people were that much genuine, for nobody was bothered about the other staying with them for a month. All will be chirping with excitement and will welcome everyone with open heart, the warmth of the reciprocations, can't be penned down in words, one has to experience it. Real wonderful souls were they. The ancestral home being the house of our grand parents, all cousins, who ever were staying outside the native place would be visiting during the summer holidays. And mostly school holidays, would fall in the same month, for everyone too. What a lovely get together.....uncles, aunts, cousins the house will be full of laughter joy and aromatic (the aroma of cooked food and cooking emitting from the kitchen). Really how cool we used to feel. We, children, were the most excited. We never used to do any household work, and were never bothered to listen, to the saying of elders, for there were plenty of places to escape and run without heeding to their calls. Sleeping and sleeping patterns too, were in haphazard ways one would cosy up oneself to whichever places available cuddling up to each other in corridors, veranda, underneath the staircase etc. Wonderful days were those, no tension, no worries, blissful days.
As I had already quoted down in my earlier posts, my grandma, was an ardent lady with overflowing love for everyone, so scolding or briefing wasn't her accord. She would just pour out her heart to us. So we all were pampered a lot. We would get up early in the morning chirping like birds and would que around the well to brush our teeth. We wouldn't, be brushing our teeth with Colgate and toothbrush. There was a special tooth powder made out of the burnt husk of rice.(mukkerri) This would be kept in mud pots mixed with salt. All would take this in their palm rub it to a fine powder and would apply to the teeths using the finger, massaging it to our teeth and gums. Wow !! what a wonderful experience it was; all would proudly be showing his/her teeth, and a competition would begin within a second to see whose teeth are brighter and sparkling. An hour or two would be spent like this.
Next is the time to take bath. All will wait for someone, or any elder to take them to the river side. My Amma was the leader to lead all the kids to the river. She would carry a bundle of clothes for washing along with the battalion of kids. All would flock around her and would be moving singing songs, fighting plucking weeds etc. The river, being a bit far from the house, would give us ample time to enjoy with each other, bullying, teasing, playing and what not. Once we reach the river side, all would plunge into the water and my Amma's shouting and scolding wouldn't be a hearing factor to anyone at all. We all will be swimming, will be splashing water on each other, and will be playing many water games, diving etc. Real splendorous bath. An hour would be spent like this, and our stomach would now be growling. We all would now rush ahead to reach home as quickly as possible to pounce on the food, KANJI.
Yes, KANJI (Rice gruel), this may sound astounding or awful to many thinking what is so special about it????????
Hmmm it is, it was, very very very special to us, boiling hot rice gruel mixed with homemade cow ghee, papadam, kondatum( dried fried vegetables) and chamandi( coconut tamarind chutney). After the nourishing bath, to have this hot and sumptuous rice gruel was indeed a treat to the soul. We all will be sitting in a circle on the floor with patram and plaayilla(plate and spoon made with jackfruit leaf)for the hot rice gruel to be served to us. Then will begin the fight for the papadam and kondatum. All will be needing more and more not satisfied with what has been served to one. Oh!! I can visualise those scenes even now, with my eyes closed. What cool days were those. Once done with breakfast all will rush out into the thodi (courtyard, orchard) to play until the call for lunch arrives. All will be enjoying a heartful game without any toys, without any worries of the world. We never knew what worries or tension were. While playing around we would be waiting for our native cousins, staying near by place to join us, too. They will then share their experiences, in their school, their studies, etc., and a good exchange of knowledge will happen. The days, will be spent thus, with visit to each other's houses, meeting elders, and exploring orchards. A month will pass by, in the warmth of elders, and, with no un due demands from the young ones and children. All will bade good bye without any regret in their hearts, promising eachother to meet again in the next summer holidays.
Now bygone are those days, or can I say that nobody is bothered to spend such days with their loved ones. With the fast pacing world of technology, our way of thinking too has changed; why so? is still a question?? Why people feel it a obligation why is the mind, instead of widening, narrowed down. Why does everyone think it's a disturbance and distrubing to someone's privacy and daily routine. May be a knock on their door is what they might be waiting for. May be they await a call from their loved ones, to be with them to mess up their routine schedule. When did this feeling of obligation, disturbance, disturbing came into the dictionary of relationship, I don't know.
Yes really blessed I am to have a relished, peaceful, joyful moments of real holidays with my loved ones.
Awaiting more of such responses
Pic courtesy: Google photos
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