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Ganapatipule - A long time ago (Part I)

I remember going in a car with my parents travelling along the strip of Konkan in western Maharashtra. Far back then no one even knew of it. Today it's become a place of tourist attraction.

My father would sit in the front seat with our driver and alternately drive the car to give him rest. My mother and I shared the back. My father loved to travel and my mother to read and write. While he would tell me to observe small details as we moved along, my mother would look out of the window at the scenery. After a while, he would doze. I would lay my head on my mother's lap and she would stroke my head. She often told me to look at the green landscape. It was the end of the monsoon. The air was cool and the white ribbon-like clouds formed a lattice in the sky. The blue sea looked gorgeous. The road almost ran parallel to the coastline. We passed several villages with their thatched huts and tiled roofs. It looked so scenic and wonderful. And wherever the terrain was flat, I could see paddy fields. My father told me that people ate mostly rice, since wheat did not grow here.

The car stopped. My father and the driver went to a small shack to order some tea. My mother led me to a 'khatiya'. We sat there. A lady brought out two cups of tea. It was for the men. My mother didn't drink tea. My father came to join us and asked us what we would like. Chocolate I said promptly and looked expectantly at him?..probably like a little puppy dog. No said Mother. I frowned and sulked. Have some coconut water, it's refreshing and its natural. Why? - I asked, not convinced. Mother explained it was the best drink and that I wouldn't feel tired. Who says so?.I continued tearfully. She said the trees offer it to us, so it is the best. I looked at the coconut trees around us. Tall and straight. They lined the road near the sea in a continuous curve. They had thrown their heads out and were swaying gently. I looked up and up. The leaves made a beautiful crown. My mother urged me to sip from the straw. I took a sip. The cool sweet liquid ran down my throat soothingly. The coconut was heavy in my small hands. I wanted to sit with my father. He set his tea aside and lifted the coconut. My mother told him to finish his tea first otherwise it would get cold and tasteless. She took the coconut from him. But I wanted only him to hold the shell. So indulgently, he held it in one hand and sipped tea with the other. My mother clicked her tongue and showed me her disapproving forefinger. Your father has to drive, so let him have his cup of tea in peace........

But as a child I never realised what I had done. He had so easily sacrificed his cup of tea so that I could have my coconut water. He then picked me up and carried me piggy back to the car. And we started our journey once again.

Today I drive a car in and out of the city. And often when I feel thirsty and lift my water bottle to my mouth, this scene comes to my mind. An indelible memory, that's pressed like a flower in the pages of my heart.