The “bitter” fond memories

Nageswararao park , 2pm on a Saturday, the sun was shining, the air was warm. Sheila had worn her favorite khaki pants and a light blue kurti, perfect for summer she thought. She rested her head on her jhola bag, under the shade of a huge neem tree, to read her favorite book. She hadn't done this in ages, she thought. The smell of the neem tree gave her comforts that she could not express or understand.

The park keeper was set to do his daily chores, cleaning the trash, sweeping the dead leaves and getting the park ready for the families who usually come in the evening. As he neared Sheila, he continued sweeping the tiny neem flowers from the ground around her. She coughed, irritated from the dust and looked out of her book.

Although it was not a pretty sight, she was drawn towards the dry leaves and flowers being swept off the ground. As she looked at the pretty white neem flowers dumped into dirty piles, a sharp pang of sorrow, mixed with feelings of fond memories shot through her, bringing her back to her childhood days with her paati (grandma).

There she was, little Sheila, wearing a white frock, picking and collecting neem flowers from the ground , just outside her house. Her grandma had asked her to bring some, and also it was a good way to keep the kid occupied. But to Sheila, the excitement in picking the flowers , and the sense of achievement on seeing the bowl getting filled up, was priceless. With a gleaming proud look, she headed back  to hand over the bowl of flowers to her grandma. She exclaimed “Paati paati, enga paru, naa evalo konduvandurukenu” (Grandma grandma, look how much I have brought!). Her paati gave an instant hug showing how proud she was of her. Sheila loved the smell of vibhudi (holy ash) on her paati. They were a team. “Now its time to wash and cook the neem flowers” her paati said. As her paati fried them in ghee (butter) and mixed it with rice, Sheila's excitement grew.. They set the table and relished the hot neem flower rice together, with her paati constantly expressing how proud she was of her!

Although it tasted very bitter, Sheila loved it, as it was something very special, that only paati and her shared.

Back in the park, Sheila teared up and the fondness of the memory brought a smile. She glanced at the tree for a moment almost in gratitude, and went back to reading her book.