Table of Contents
The Table of Contents
Preface: Etched in Time
- The Train Ride
- The Heart of Kalyani
- The Backyard Kingdom
- Yummy Delights
- Sneaking Out for Phuchka
- The Patients Came
- Our Evening Soirees
- Showering Mangoes
- Lazy Afternoons and Lemurs
- Monsoon Mist
- Autumn Celebrations
- Winter Warmth
- The Thirteenth Season of Happy Hearts
Acknowledgment
Glossary
Etched in Time
Looking back into the pages
of my life,
the good old days
of childhood holidays
spring back to life.
With love, I remember the days
spent at my grandparents' suburban home
in the lap of the lush green town of Kalyani.
The colorful memories,
in all hues and shades,
weave a charming quilt
of endless warm moments.
Senses soak up images like a sponge.
For each intense moment,
senses borrow from each other.
It's hard to spot where one perception ends
and the other picks up the thread.
Like the rusty-red scent of the local train.
Or the tickling taste of earth
from the first monsoon rain.
These mixed sensory collages
lend me their magic
to turn moments into memories.
Our little joys and laughter,
along with quiet ponderings,
resided in respect.
In our acceptance of people,
seasons, and things.
And the other realities of life.
Deep intuition seeped into life's daily flow
of humdrum routines and processes.
Life was just as good,
or perhaps way better.
Without the gadgets
and the speed of modern life.
Our imagination tucked in the folds of time,
with hope and wonder.
And a pinch of fear
for the things we didn't understand.
Our silent questions hung around
without the smart answers.
Nature's beauty weaved itself
in our days spent
in the backyard orchards.
She spun us in
with her spontaneous charm.
Her splendor made us happy
with less to own.
Without fancy or waste.
It was an era of childhood contentment-
a spontaneity and openness
I've always wanted to hold on
well into my adult life.
Looking back,
my childhood at my grandparents'
was a time well spent.
The everydayness of their loving care
in those bygone happy times
has helped me be
in my own world of bounty,
enjoying an indefinable richness within me.
