Seasons in the SUN

Padma Bhushan awardee, bestselling author and philanthropist, Sudha Murty, relives memories of summer vacations tinged with the scent of mangoes

- Sudha Murty

Sudha Murty is 72, but when she recounts her childhood memories of summer vacations spent in her grandparents’ village in Karnataka, it is as if she is a child again; bonding with cousins, playing traditional games, lazing around in the heavy heat and overdosing on her favourite mangoes. 

“It was an annual ritual for us to visit our grandparents’ house in a sleepy village in Karnataka during my summer vacations. I remember days tinged with the yellow glow of the harsh summer sun when the air was thick with the sweet aroma of mangoes.

Thirteen of us cousins—Lata, Ranganath, Lalita, and many others— would sit together, playing games and telling each other stories all day.

The scorching heat forced us to begin our days early in the village. There was no electricity or tap water then. We would wake up at dawn and head to the nearby stepwell for our morning bath. Given the large size of our family, we would fetch pots of drinking water from the well.

With ennui looming large, we turned everything into a game; we competed to see how many pots of water we could bring from the well in one go. I recall once we all managed to carry 10!

Due to the intense heat, the villagers would complete all their tasks, such as visiting the market for daily essentials and harvesting vegetables by 8 am. Living in the village taught us to adapt to nature without relying on modern conveniences like air conditioning and mobile phones.

Once indoors, my cousins and I would spend long hours playing games like antakshari, reading books, assisting the elders with chores, and relishing juicy mangoes.