Its Christmas again!!!

Its Christmas time again. Every year during this time I go down memory lane and indulge in a bit of nostalgia. For me Christmas typically signifies winters. Having spent the major part of my life including all of my childhood in Jabalpur, I miss the winters the most in Bombay.

Christmas vacations would normally start from the 19th or the 20th and schools would reopen around 2nd or 3rd of Jan. And boy did we enjoy those days!!! The day used to begin around 9 in the morning. We attired in our sweaters or jackets would go to the cricket field. And a good 3 hours of batting, bowling & fielding. We had to return home by 12.15 max since 12.30 was the time when everybody's dad would come home for lunch. So u had to get your bath and be ready for lunch with dad. And Dads were never interested in how many runs you scored that day. The question from them would be about the Maths homework he had assigned for the holidays :-). Afternoons used to be typically out there in the garden. Every house had a garden where moms would assemble in the afternoons for their round table conference and to bask in the winter sun. The best memories of those days are of women with knitting wool and needles and other accesories and discussing how a particular design would be done. I've never seen women with the knitting needles in Bombay ever. Every year I used to have atleast 1 new sweater with the latest design from the Hindi magazine Manorama woven exclusively by mom. Thanks so much mom. I now realise how much I miss those sweaters. I still have them safely stacked up inside my cupboards. Sadly I dont need those in Bombay .

Christmas Day reminds of picnics. Every year on this day people would go out in groups of 20-30 to some beautiful place close to the city and spend the day there. Food used to be cooked using firewood. Oh how much the taste of that delicious food still lingers. And the day after Christmas our visits to our teachers' house would begin. Studying in a missionary school had its advantages. Most of the teachers were Catholics and we would choose one teacher to visit everyday for Christmas. Wow, what amazing goodies they used to serve us. But I remember Miss D'Souza the most. She had a glass of home made ginger wine for us every Christmas. But she never gave us a refill. We were too young to have a second one she used to say:). And who would forget the goodies which we used to get at home from neighbours who were Christians.

But now things are different. I live in a city where time and money are more valuable than emotions. Christmas just flies by without me even realising. Probably thats how life is!

How I wish that I could turn back the clock and go back to those days when completing the homework was the biggest responsibility that we had in life. When winning a cricket match against the team from the other colony used to be reason enough to be happy for days together. When playing cricket with friends in the evening used to be the biggest priority in life. When discussing about our crushes used to make us blush so much. When television had not invaded our lives so much. When sleeping inside the quilt with the mercury around 4 degrees outside was the biggest comfort in life. When being forced to get up in the morning during winters was the only grief we had. When Christmas & New Year meant going to each house and wishing them. When life was so simple yet so great! How I wish those days were back again!!