HEAVEN ON EARTH

hMMM, I wrote suchalot Friday evening, posted it, didn't publish it, and now it can't be seen anywhere... ;-(((..neways, what I had written was more or less what follows-

Life was one big Party during the summer vacations from mid-April to mid-June, 2 whole months of bliss, our schedule those days didn't vary much, apart from trips outside of B'bay, but when in B'bay, our routine went something like this-
Wake up at 5:45, brush teeth and hair, not with the same brush ;-), gather the whole gang in the colony, which was as varied as they come, all shapes and sizes, all ages and all colours, not any advert. for Benetton, but certainly multi-facted, multi-lingual, multi-cultural, we were an advert for national harmony in ourselves, we would then trek up to the mountains behind our colony, which were known as '1st Pahadi, 2nd Pahadi, 3rd Pahadi and the Biggie, 4th Pahadi'--- 'Pahadi' is Mountain in Hindi.
We would troop upwards, the little band of trekkers, and feel an increased sense of achievement after each level, the 2nd Pahadi was this flat land - AKA Inner Ville park, with many couples-old, young, school-going, working, groups of people, the largest variety of dogs this side of the Indian Ocean, all jogging, sitting, relaxing...
Then, on to the 3rd, which was like the 1st summit for us, the 4th pahadi was not a regualar thing, usually it was a Sunday event, all aunties & uncles included as well ... ;-)...
Back from the treks, we would be dirty, soiled, grimy, muddy, grubby kids with the kind-of-lights-up-ur-eyes-smile, fully refreshed, charged and raring to go...We would clean ourselves up, by which i mean, take a bath, and then after tucking in a good breakfast, we would run down to play gali-badmintion, the kind, where if the shuttle falls on ur side of the court, you r out ;-)))...
Then, come noon, it was exclusively devoted to Giant Robot, He-man, The Grimm brothers, - Doordarshan had this wonderful slot in the summer hols. from 12-2, aptly called 'Fun-Time'...we would mostly crash in one of the gang's place, all of us...Tat done, back to our homes, for Lunch, and tat being the season of the King of Fruits, time 2 settle down to a Big-Juicy Mango post-lunch, - like they say, The proof the eating is in the mango-stained Tee;-)...Then, settle down to some reading - remember my sis and I hoarding the local library- KK library....
Post-reading, it was time for some yummyyyy evening snacks, dosas, vadas, pakodas, bread-rolls, u name it ;-)))
5.00-ish, the much-awaited cries of 'Anita, neeche aa, aunty, usko bolo jaldi aane ko' would be heard, would dash down, and we would play an assortment of games- Langdi party, poison-medicine, saakli, hide&seek, dabba-i-spice, land& water, pakda-pakdi, Throw-ball, Is the lamb at home today, Kho-Kho, Monkey in the Middle, doctor-doctor, Lock&Key, colour-colour....and galli-baseball with the big colourful kiddie balls with alphabets on them
;-)))
Then,. 9-ish, home for dinner, after which time 2 guzzle the big glass of Mango-Milkshake, and then later, galli-badmintion again, with aunties/uncles....and my gang...
Hmm, sleep arnd 12-30-ish, and enjoy the best sleep ever, with the lightsummer breeeze coming in from the windows...
Did someone say there is no heaven on earth !!!

Current Mood-Calm
SongOfTheDay - It must have been love
Current Reads- 'The Naughtiest Girl Again - Enid Blyton'
Would like to eat - MeduVada-Chatni from Vishwa Bharati