you can beat the heat but not the memories

while the sultry summers set in... while the sweat trickles down the neck... while the sunglasses of various shapes and sizes make their way... i just want my dark ac room, a chilled glass of juice and my paperback. the past few days I've developed an aversion to work and all that i want to do...is either travel to the hills despite the fact that am broke or you know just draw the curtains and read. it's my way of beating the heat? who knows... i just can't help remembering my childhood summer holidays, when i used to just wile away my afternoons and be so glad about life! suck on a spoonful of tamarind pickle and watch the various cartoons and afternoon shows on TV like street hawk, Disney world, some soap on battling computer viruses. i used to watch them avidly... my other time pass was playing pranks on my family, my grandparents would be the unsuspecting victims of my various atyachaar. we have a huge house with interesting nooks and corners to just lose oneself in... each parapet, each window sill, each veranda has so many memories. afternoons were also a time when i used to write my lengthy letters to friends who just stayed across the street. i miss the famous fives, the hardy boys, the nancy drews... and later all the classics, novels, bestsellers... i miss everything... i miss the ice cream wala calling out from the street... i miss rushing down the stairs to grab an ice-lolly. i miss those long winding phone conversations and day dreaming about some guy i developed a short interest over.

Now its just the keyboard, shit load of work, meetings, deadlines, ideas, brainstorming, copy, art, copy, more copy, proof... gawd.... i wish somebody could return those afternoons to me. those stories told by my granddad, those plays on radio... the taste of watermelon juice frozen in ice-cube trays... i guess the taste of the summers gone by will stay with me forever and lighten my load as i plough through another grown-up summer.