Rons Bantwal

Daijiworld Media Network – Mumbai (EP)

Mumbai, Sep 9: “I wish a happy Monti feast to one and all. The feast is to relish nature. I remember the Nativity feast food that our neighbour dear D’ Souza aunty would bring for us in a big tray filled with Idli, Green curry, Ambade sweet curry, bitter gourd Ambade curry, Patrode, Haldi leaf Patholi, Payasam and Peru Halva,” stated eminent Kannada author Shyamala Madhav recollecting her childhood days.

“They were two sisters and a brother. We used to call them D’ Souza aunties and D’ Souza uncle. The elder sister who was a severe Asthma patient, passed away. The rest joined the old age home after her demise and breathed their last there.”

“The residence of our neighbours D’ Souza compound and that of professor Tekkunje Gopalakrishna Bhat were on the right hand side of our residence. The abode of dear Manorama Bhat was behind us. There was also the house of a Konkani family to our left hand side. As kids, we woke up to their Radio Suprabhat tune every morning.”

“The very sweet Boar, Jamun and Star Fruit trees compound and the loving souls enriching our lives and the Ganapathi falling in our not so deep well during Chouthi is an unforgettable treasure in our lives,” said Shyamala Madhav.