The joy of growing up in a small town
I was born in a small town called Nagpur in Maharashtra, India. Nearly 40 years back Nagpur was a small town as compared to its glamorous cousins Pune or Bombay. It still retains its small town charm in the lanes and by lanes that I frequented as a child and then as a grown woman. There is a certain kind of joy growing up in a small town, which is incomparable when you grow up in a big city. The hustle and bustle of a big city makes it impossible for a person to enjoy the relaxed life or even notice the changing seasons. While growing up, most of the people I knew lived in Bungalows with a garden around the house. There were buildings but there were very few of these. Our house was surrounded by Papaya, Guava and Custard Apple trees. We also had a Lemon tree along with a variety of flowering plants such as Rose, Mogra, Hibiscus etc. For any Puja in the house, all we had to do was grab a basket and pluck the flowers and fruits. One of our neighbours had a Mango tree and all the kids