summer and much more

Recently went to a school for my son's admission. On its huge campus was a mango tree laden with raw mangoes at a stretched arm's reach. I was all the while holding the temptation to pluck just one. I was puzzled at how could a mango tree on a boys school campus retain all the mangoes without having them stoned down by the boys. Either the school had really good discipline or children nowadays did not find plucking raw magoes from trees an adventure any more. I cannot remember any of my summer vacations without remembering the pure joy of having one's mouth and teeth sore after devouring countless raw mangoes laced with salt and chilli powder. An infinite memories of lazy afternoons spent depleting the lots of Tinkle, Amar chitra Katha, Enid Blyton, PuLa, Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys and our desi detective Fa Fe scrolled down the memory lane. A book in one hand, and a side dish of jamuns or raw magoes or indian black berries with salt in the other made even the Indian summer feel cool. The aroma of fresh mango pickle lingered in the house for a day even after the pickle was packed off in big glass containers for the year. But it isnt cool any more. No one reads books in summer vacation anymore. I dont make mango pickle at home anymore the way my mother did every summer. Maybe Lays will come up with a raw mango flavor and it will be a hit. Or maybe someday an iphone app or an android app to stone and strike down raw mangoes will bring raw mangoes back to their summer glory. Just maybe.