"Kodagu is truly beautiful! Very scenic, teeming with coffee and orange plantations. Pepper vines entwine around trees. In the dense undergrowth one finds cardamom, areca, banana, lush ferns and arum.Monkeys frolic in the wild like a bunch of naughty kids and spotted deer move about in herds feeling completely at home! Wish you were here with us!" Sanyukta gushed. Randhir smiled to see the earnest look on her face.

"It is a summer destination, must be quite cold there in the winter. I recall spending a week in Coorg. Do you remember Arvind and Suniti Kasbekar, we had visited them in Karwar? Their family and ours took the holiday together one summer. Suniti Aunty had contacts as she grew up in Mangalore. The food we sampled in Coorg was spectacular- the traditional pork curry and stir fried bamboo shoots- I still remember the taste." Randhir had happy memories of that childhood trip. Tanvi- Arvind and Suniti's daughter- was close to his age and son Tushar was younger than Parth. The four children had been on many holidays together with their parents and had enjoyed themselves thoroughly. 

Sanyukta listened as Randhir recalled his memories, she had none of her own to match them. She could not help but feel a tinge of envy wishing her own childhood had been similar. Anju always took on extra work during the summer holidays to supplement her teacher's meagre pay, it ranged from coaching students in vacation batches to evaluating board examination papers. There was neither the time nor funds for a holiday. If Anju did not save money they would have none to repair the tiled roof of their house in Goa before the monsoons each year.

Sanyukta disliked the thought of a leaky roof during heavy rains, about having to live perpetually with the smell of damp walls and placing buckets under the drips from the ceiling. Mother and daughter had such few sets of clothes that Sanyukta rarely had anything fully dry to wear during the monsoon. The clothes on the line took forever to dry and would smell of smoke from the clay stove in the backyard where they heated their bath water. To save on power bills Anju only ironed clothes that were needed for leaving home, home wear would be worn straight off the line.

During her school days Sanyukta often wished she had a father like the other girls in her class though her real father was better off dead. Girls who came from double income families never understood her and branded her as weird. Sanyukta vowed that if she ever had children she would move heaven and earth to give them a life of dignity and financial security. Her mother had only seen struggle. One day she would ensure that she made enough money for Anju to retire comfortably and spend quality time with her grandchildren.

Their life had changed only recently after they moved to Mumbai. The official quarters given to Anju was a spacious furnished flat. Her pay raise had also been substantial. Thanks to Harsh Shekhawat they had finally left their difficult existence in Goa behind them. The only thing Sanyukta missed about Goa was the time she had spent with Randhir. She was unsure how Anju had felt about moving to Mumbai. She did seem quite upbeat about her career and their new found prosperity. Harsh helped Anju settle down before he left for the US with Randhir. Sanyukta wondered if her mother ever missed him like she missed Randhir. In that matter Anju was a closed book that revealed nothing.

"The weather here is pleasantly chilly. My friend's relatives ply us with home grown coffee to keep us warm. It is brilliant when sweetened with palm jaggery instead of sugar. Yesterday they served us some great vegetable and egg puffs with the coffee. A local bakery specialises in them, they were still warm from the oven when we had them!" Sanyukta paused to drink some water.

"Wow! Am sure you are having a great time! I remember the heady fragrance of coffee blossoms. It had rained early that summer, much before the dry season was meant to end. Before we left the place the coffee trees bloomed with thousands of flowers resembling clusters of white jasmines." Randhir leaned against his pillow for comfort.

Sanyukta showed him the pictures she had clicked. The coffee plants were laden with numerous clusters of bright red cherry-like berries. Once harvested these would be dried before yielding their precious contents, the coffee beans. 

  "They look so tempting! And the fully ripe ones taste quite nice too, a bit like cherries and other red fruit. There is a profusion of them around us and the plantations are abuzz with harvest time activity!" It was apparent to Randhir from her enthusiasm that this was her first holiday of the kind. He listened patiently as she rambled on about her stay.

 Since Gayatri was busy interacting with her future in-laws Sanyukta chose to do some exploring accompanied by Suyash's cousin Dhruv who was happy to show her around. Dhruv had finished his postgraduate residentship recently. He decided to take a short break in Kodagu as Suyash wanted him to meet Gayatri. Sanyukta showed Randhir her pictures with Dhruv.

"You were out with this guy all day? Scores well in the looks department, guess he must be smart too if he recently became an MD. What did he specialise in?" Randhir seemed interested in the stranger.

"Neurosurgery! He has me nearly convinced to do Masters in Neurological Physiotherapy! Must be quite bright." Sanyukta smiled as she recalled her banter with Dhruv.

"Woah! You've hit it off quite well with the doctor if he's trying to get you to join his department. What's going on, Mowgli? Do I hear your heart singing a sweet song?" Randhir asked. It was quite possible for Sanyukta to fall for someone, in fact he had even encouraged her to look for suitable companionship. But he had not expected anything to happen.

"Yes, of course! For it is singing the song for the same guy for whom it has been doing so all these years. Come on, Randhir, it is fine if you are kidding but could it be that you are jealous? Nah, guess not! By the way, Dhruv has a hot girlfriend, he even showed me her pictures. He has been dating Sanjana since medical school. She is specialising in cosmetic dermatology." 

"Anyway, I learnt how to make the famous pork pandi curry from Suyash's grandmother who is in her seventies but still rules over the kitchen. Apparently the traditional spice mix and a local vinegar made from a tangy fruit called kachampuli are the key ingredients. I also tried to make the steamed rice dumplings called kadumbutu to accompany the curry but with moderate success. I managed the akki roti made of rice flour far better though!" Sanyukta beamed, looking quite pleased with herself.

"So Mowgli, seems like you are training to be a good wife now! What happened to your career plans? By the way I love pandi curry very much, with or without kadumbutu. Hopefully when I am back in India you'll have perfected the recipe!" Randhir winked at her.

"I'll think about it! Who knows, you may find someone else to make it for you before you return to India. Hey, I am going shopping with Gayatri tomorrow. We'll be looking at sarees and ethnic bridal jewellery. She is getting married this summer." She looked excited to be doing all the things she had never done before. 

"How about you shop for yourself too? Just in case Dhruv has a change of plans!" Randhir grinned.

"Don't know about him, but why don't you speak for yourself? I don't want to marry yet, that is why I want to go for post graduation so I can put off my mother's attempts to find me a match for another few years!" Sanyukta tried to gauge his reaction.

"Stop copying me step for step, ok! That is my strategy to stop getting hitched!" He pretended to glare at her.

"Randhir, is it true that Parth and Vidushi are getting married this year? I heard it on the grapevine!" Sanyukta asked.

"Yes, with my blessings,  of course! Vidushi's parents were anxious, they thought my parents wanted to wait for me to marry before Parth. I convinced the family to simply go ahead. So yes, there will be a wedding in the family this year." Randhir was telling Sanyukta what she was hoping to hear.

" I am so happy for Parth and Vidushi!" And for myself too, she wanted to add but chose not to.

"Ok, Mowgli, I must get some shuteye now! Have a nice shopping trip and keep those eyes peeled for a suitable groom for yourself !" They bade each other farewell hoping to catch up as soon as they could make the time to.