Summer holidays are the best!  Sowmya absolutely loved going to her grandmother’s house for her summer vacations. She lived in a small town in Kerala and Sowmya called her grandmother Ammumma in Malayalam . From the hustle-bustle in Mumbai, Sowmya was excited to experience the tranquility of her grandmother's house

Within a few hours, she was wrapped up in a tight hug by her grandmother as her grandmother exclaimed, “I have missed you so much Chakare” Chakra  is a term of endearment in Malayalam that elders might use to address their young family members.

As soon as she entered the house, the familiar smell of hot rice on fresh vazha ellai, a banana leaf filled the house. Her grandmother led her to the dining table. The table was filled with all kinds of delicious treats. There was dosa, rasam, sambhar, coconut chutney, potatoes, payasam, ghee rice, spicy chicken curry and so much more Sowmya exclaimed in glee and immediately started eating! .

After lunch she met her cousin Sarthak. He had come to their house to take Sowmya for the Onam celebration. Onam is a popular festival in Kerala. Swomya and her mother wore the traditional white saree with the golden border while Swmya’s father and Sarthak wore kurtas and mundes. They rushed to go see the Snake Boat Race while her grandmother stayed back to draw a Kolam. This was a beautiful rangoli that is made from ground rice flour.

The Snake Boat Race was so fun for everyone. They cheered the racers and even got splashed with some ice-cold water!

After a long and fun day, she retired to bed. As she was about to sleep, she started thinking about her other set of grandparents.They lived in Chandigarh. They lovingly called her puttar. Just liked her Ammumma, her dadi cooked her all kinds of tasty treats like rajma-chawal, gajar ka halwa, makke ki roti, dahi bhalle etc

She thought of how differently she spent her time in Chandigarh. Her grandfather used to take her and her other cousin Hari to the corn farms on weekends. The smell of fresh grass was amazing. She used to go to Chandigarh every year for Baisakhi. They used to sing folk songs, wear patialas and enjoy a bon-fire. The bon-fire was her favourite part. She loved the feeling of warmth it provided and the cackling sound of the fire burning.

Sowmya’s mother was from a South-Indian descent and was from Kerala while her father had a North-Indian heritage and was from Chandigarh. So, Sowmya enjoyed the best of both worlds. As she finally fell asleep, she was feeling extremely grateful for her culture, and she had already started planning her next trip to her grandparent’s place!