During summer holidays, coastal children’s exuberance for life would reach its pinnacle as the most exciting things happened during then. Besides freedom from school, it was the time for fairs in every temple which brought varieties of entertainment, unique toys and food, unique only to temple fair markets. It was also when the trees would be treasures as they bore fruits.
We loitered around the trees, chewing fresh leaves of mango, cashew, guava or tamarind trees, and progressed as we collected and consumed their tender produce to satisfy our cravings. We could climb trees or prepare long bamboo sticks with wooden hooks to procure jackfruits or other produce. We catered to orders for tender cashews and their fresh kernels to supplement the taste of their payasam. We were also entrusted with bringing tender or raw mangoes, hog plums or tamarind for chutneys for pickles. These tasks needed unique expertise in tree climbing and carefully handling them to avoid skin burns due to their corrosive sap.
As summer progressed, the produce from the trees would start ripening. We would shake the Kokam tree to land its fruits on the ground. Coastal mango trees give a small variety of mangoes that they shed every day. Some branches would be shaken with bamboo sticks to increase our collection if they are in reach. We sat under mammoth mango trees with some books in hand to read, waiting for a strong wind, which would sway the higher branches and drop some fresh additions to our bounty. A moderate ten to fifteen per cent of the collection would typically be diverted to satisfy our urges and support our metabolic process. During the summers, we would only eat mangoes, hog plums or kokum fruits. They complemented the digestion process of other hard fruits like jackfruits and guava.
The weather did not affect us. We have no memories of avoiding the sun or not being outdoors for any part of the day. Excelling in academics or becoming a professional was never an expectation from our parents. They probably did not foresee the forthcoming changes and challenges in society, requiring us to move to the cities in search of jobs, leaving small precious land to the seniors born before us. The expectation was to be happy in life and to be ethical, loving and kind. There was always affection and support even if someone failed in school or made a mistake in life. It was always attributed to unfavourable fortunes.