The temperatures were rising, maybe a 100 to a 120 fahrenheit, the expression across the state of Odisha was that, "It's Hot !", while somewhere around 11.8 miles from Cuttack, things were looking otherwise for this one house out of 150 other houses. The reason wasn't good food, or great air conditioner, nor great entertainment gadgets, the reason was the experience of a lifetime.
For my Ajja ( Mom's father), what made him chirpier than usual were his kids and grand kids around his ranch during summer, the ranch, that he had built as a dream, thinking that some day in future, all his kids will stay there and would have enough room for additional innovations, if necessary. ( The things parents do for love..)
My Ajja was always an early riser since the days of his engineering education tenure, to when he joined the Indian Railways and served as a lead engineer for around 40-50 years of his entire career. (Respect to that level of dedication)
To be honest, you can wake him up anytime at the middle of the night, and he would be straight up, escorting one of his grandkid or kid to the bathroom, without a single grunt. ( That's tough, for me too, so a whole another level of gratitude and salute to his patience)
He used to rise as early as 5, jump straight to his to-do list, of sweeping the verandah ( cemented patio) , which I guess was his idea of a good workout as he used to squat the entire time. Enough thigh muscles building up right there, plus tones arms and wrist empowerment.
The next to-do were on taking care of his pets, so marching to his cow shed, where he had built a cozy smoke room combined with an office room for himself.
Imagine how much of an animal lover he was to have shared his personal space with cows, I am sure none of you millennials can even bear that thought. I am not sure anything in today's world, goes beyond seeking personal pleasure alone. Even pets are being augmented to customize to the pet owners need. But this topic is for some other day.
*P.S [ right to left ] the picture is of my Mom, who was called Ninu as her nickname and was also referred to as the engine of their family of 5 kids, my Ajja wanted everyone to follow his eldest no matter what and my youngest cousin born to youngest uncle, Munna Mamu, who practically slept with Ajja till Ajja's last breathe, lucky Lipun, that's his nickname.
I like how he made the hottest temperature, feel like a breezy afternoon during summers. Especially for his grandkids, he along with Aaee( who used to bring along the adventure factor, the moment she got up), just pushed everyone to keep doing something or the other, like a family photoshoot, or a fishing experience, or fighting bravely a monkey menace, or counting stars from dusk to night in the terrace while listening to stories, or raging through the dark night to hunt a cobra, or as simple as a coconut water drinking contest, or a ritual where we just eat until our tummies were about to burst.
You must be wondering, when am I going to elaborate each of these experiences, so don't you guys worry about that as the adventure will unfold itself pretty shortly after I am done writing this marketing paragraph. ( for the laughs)
Fishing Experience: The fishing net is out, that baits assembled, everyone in the house, both kids and adults are asked to wrap up their breakfast's as early as possible as neighbors will gather and then there will be no bias to the front row seats that will be taken. Sadly no cameras, no smartphones, no drones permitted in the premises as that ruins the emotions that come in first hand by the spectators. ( such was living in the 90s..)
Both my Ajja and Aaee are great swimmers of their era, I guess back then swimming was a necessity than pleasure as it was a great organic exercise for the mind and body to swim alongside nature.
So the final act starts, and all the kids starting from 2-12 are available by the pond,where Ajja, Aaee, my Mamu ( youngest son and my uncle), have now begun to start their swim from the tail end of the pond. You should have seen the look in my Aaee's eyes, it was like hey I got this, while Ajja and Mamu kept following her, while all the fishes start splashing through the net and we as front row watchers got the instant splashes alongwith broader smiles on our faces. ( beyond the sea world experience..indeed, like dolphins or killer whale splash while diving in and out of the pool)
*P.S [ right to left ] the picture is of me who was called by her nickname Jenney, my twin cousin Sony born to my eldest aunt, my younger cousin Sweety born to my youngest aunt and my elder brother Joy.
While my Aaee took out the fishes one by one and throwing it to a bucket nearby, filled with water, for just the kids to watch the fish up and close, my Ajja and Mamu had started to get the hang of it, and were laughing their lungs out when fishes were trying to get into their unwanted areas. It was such an experience that we had all forgotten how hot the day was, or how tiring the wait was for a single fish to swim by a giant bucket of water. Well, such was the beauty of life back then.
After the fun filled fishing experience, we all had a grand meal at the lunch table of freshly caught fish curry prepared by my Aaee and that taste till date is unbeatable.
Because we were a humongous household in summer, our meals were tackled in batches, and every batch the kids were the consistent ones, who were making sure they were part of each batch without fail. As with each batch the food seemed to become more delicious, alongside the intense discussions, the giggle, the roar of laughter, the abrupt stubborn cry of a child, the delightful sigh of Ajja looking at everyone sitting and eating together, while he enjoyed his meal with contentment that's hard to express without tears overflowing my eyes.
So let me stop here for today, and come back with a lighter mood like my late Ajja - Mr. Sudarsana Nanda, and my late Aaee - Mrs. Bhawani Nanda, and breakthrough my next adventures that followed into summers, that I spent mostly with my grandparents, both on my maternal and paternal side without fail.
*P.S [ right to left ] the picture is of my Mom, my Ajja and my youngest cousin born to youngest uncle, Munna Mamu.
To catch up with all the other adventures of " The Story Of An Untold Paradise Series" so far , please read flmy earlier pieces, tagged 👇...( a book coming soon..)
*pic and story copyrights are solely with the author and creator of Innocent Thoughts, so kindly don't use these pictures elsewhere, thanks.
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