Sunday, December 17, 2006

A spot of nostalgia

Have you tried catching a spot of sunlight? I have this old fragment of memory -- of dappled sunlight on a verandah on a warm afternoon when I tried desperately to get one spot of sun to stay in my hand.

My memory also has mango trees, like many old Malayalam film songs. I remember having asked my mother long ago why so many Malayalam songs alluded to mango trees when attempting to invoke nostalgia. Her reply was that almost every house used to have a mango tree in the yard. All the houses I stayed in during my childhood had a mango tree. The home -- to which the mind remains anchored to -- now has four. From my room, I could see two. But here, that green shade exists only in my mind.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

so did a lot of Kannada songs in my growing up years. And there was a mango tree and a jack fruit tree beneath which I spent all my Sunday afternoons. But now to grow some flowering plants in my own garden I am told I need to get my association's approval! They say "if everybody puts what they want in the garden the appearance of the apartment complex will be spolied" So now I have croutons fighting for space!