Reassuring Raspberries

Do u remember that story, where the king's son had a stomach ache after eating so much of raspberry tarts? We studied it in school (and thus lost all its fun and imagination!). I guess in the end a wise minister convinces him that even after u remove the moon from sky, next night it will be replaced...(Again I dont recall what was the moon for, to make the boy drink his bitter medicine?SCHOOL, I must say!)

Anyway, in so many stories, from where I didnt have to answer questions in two sentences or in a paragraph, I have come across children going to pick raspberry in the wild-and it simply thrilled me..!! I have developed a fancy for all berries-mulberry,strawberry, blueberry, blackberry, gooseberry........my mouth-watering berries!

So, on the day of New Year, we were walking down CP (Delhi's famous acronym for Connaught Place) and found ourselves beside a foreign-fruit vendor. among strawberries, taiwan imported sweet tamarinds and green apples, he had this bunch of orangish yellow fruits, the size of grapes. Me and my sis, given the gluttons that we are, asked what it was and got enlightened about raspberries-till then a mere word of childhood reading. We bought it and started to eat immediately.

It tasted very nice-and familiar. In fact, it brought memories...of childhood, of our carefree vacations, of my long long reading time on bed on those asthmatic days...It reminded us about our time at ammachi's place, with all our cousins, how we used to turn an ordinary hybiscus tree into the most marvellous fir during christmas, and many, many more...

Later, in the room, we examined the bunch and found it resembled NJOTTA NJODIYAN!!(Now, its a wild fruit that amma taught us about-one of the many edible 'kaattupazhangal' we never knew existed). And finally we concluded this so called raspberry is nothing short(or tall) of njotta njodiyan!!only they are a lot bigger. even its outer cover was the same...We were so excited about this discovery that we popped the berries one after the other into our mouths all too fast, and it got over in a giffy!

And that was how my New Year began- with the reassuring note that i can still revel in the small things in life...and feel complete.