Recollecting..

As a child, I longed to live in a hut, where windows were lotus shaped holes and the roof was sloping bright yellow hay; where in a cozy dimlit corner wood crackled in the fire, rice was cooked and the scent of smoke filled the house; I looked forward to the crazy cyclones just to see the six Ashoka trees in my compound sway without yielding. I waited for it to end to be able to pick the cotton and tamarind pods from my garden; I remember bragging to my dear friend that the day I came into this world, I was just the size of a pea; she swore she was no bigger than a mustard seed - I suddenly recollected that I was infact invisible the first few hours of my birth;  i remember making hammocks for my koala dolls using my sister's dupatta in the rear of our van during our long drives to hometown; how i always wanted to sip tea under the guava tree just like it said in my English lessons and never did; i told mom that the white water she saw coming into the garden from the washbasin pipe was soap water and not my glass of milk; my house had several welcome and unwelcome visitors, including cows, buffalos, goats, snakes, mongoose, pigs, dogs, cats and an occasional madman roaming around. (to be continued)