Plum cake was a big deal

- June 12, 2021

'Childhood' has always been a favorite topic among writers, poets and even instagram junkies. Everybody acknowledges childhood as the simple golden times of one's lifetime. I am no different . However my childhood was extra special because I grew up with my amazing cousins and so #mycousinsarebetterthanyours is my favorite hashtag because it is true.

All our houses are a few meters apart, its almost a joint family and so everybody's nose is in each other's business 😉 Just kidding! Honestly it has its perks. If in my house they are cutting a jackfruit open, then be sure my cousins house will also smell like a jackfruit that day, as they will be getting a piece of it and vice versa. If somebody from one house goes to Mangalore and brings some extra special fish, all our houses will get the supply. This is not limited to jackfruit and fishes, "Sharing is caring" has been our mantra , always in good times and bad ! Not only that we are a huge support system to each other when things go south!

To put it in simple words it was basically like growing up with 10-12 siblings. I can group ourselves into 3 clusters where each group of cousins are 1-2 years apart in age. If you are the oldest in your group then you are lucky , because you are getting everything new starting from clothes to toys to textbooks while others get to be happy with hand me downs . I think this gives me the right to proudly say that reuse/recycle is in my blood ;)

Play times with my gang were the best, with shawls and sarees turning into tents(in our heads these were bungalows), hibiscus leaves getting a make over as chapatis, grass to chutneys/sauces. We didn't have loads of toys to play with but that did not stop us from playing the best games and having fun. Our nicknames for each other are sometimes cute , some time embarrassing. How can I forget, we all walking together to/from school and throughout not blinking our eyes to ghost stories. When I grew a little older my initial burnt experiments in the kitchen were with my cousins.

Talking about festivals, birthdays and other celebrations . They are always a blast , because we know how to party ;) Do not get me wrong! Growing up we were all lower/upper middle class so our gatherings weren't scrumptious food and expensive alcohol. In fact we were all happy and content with a simple plum cake. My most favourite part about our celebrations is how it always ends with all of us dancing like crazies. Sometimes we don't even need a reason to celebrate ! We just do ! As the time passed we are all financially much stable so eventually our simple plum cakes are replaced with fancy food and drinks but something remains unchanged is the joy, laughs and the love we share.

Oh ! Sometimes I wonder did we actually invent pot-luck ? Most of you probably were introduced to potluck when you became a corporate slave (no offence ! Its my profession too) but I knew it much before that. September 8th every year we honour Mother Mary's birthday and its time for our yearly grand pot-luck. Secret confession, I enjoy this festival more than Christmas (shhhhh! I said it ) . We have some amazing cooks in the family , each house brings 2-3 homemade dishes and when we all gather its a feast. We have followed this tradition till date without fail and I look forward to it with same excitement and enthusiasm every year (definitely regret those years I had to miss).

It is not always rainbows and unicorns. We have wrestled, pulled each others hair and physically harmed each other at times . We have gotten in to terrible arguments and have stopped talking to each other for weeks. It all comes as a part of the package. In one innocent incident, with my stupid experiment I made my cousin inhale a bead and her parents had to rush her to the hospital , luckily they were able to get it out before it reached her lungs.

I can go on ! but pausing for a moment to think , I have had the best childhood but every child out there isn't as lucky and fortunate enough. There are childhoods that are miserable and traumatic. Reasons could be anything maybe its poverty, lack of resources, toxic parents, disability, illness, being orphans, child labor, blind beliefs, unreasonable traditions etc. if your childhood was nothing like this then be mindful and consider yourself blessed , be grateful for what you had and remember the people who had/have unfortunate childhood. Keep them in your good thoughts/ prayers and extend your helping hand if you can :)