I stepped out into our verandah this morning, Mi, just to enjoy the no-pigeon-ness. Sure there are feathers floating around but a far cry from the poop carpet. Oh, two glorious weeks of not scraping shit. I still haven’t done anything to beautify the place because it needs another scrubba dubba doo before I can think of anything.
Also, rains. So maybe I will begin with a holy basil plant and clear up the remaining residues before I do so, to begin with a clean slate.
I walked up and down the length of the verandah, recalling those days when we used it almost like a room, Mi. How lovely it used to be, standing together, facing the early morning sun, gentle music on the radio wafting out as we savored our coffee together, fantasized about the kind of house we’d live in, in a few years, talked about the day’s menu and looked forward to getting started!
As I strolled down memory lane, I felt nostalgic about the picnics we had there with Vidur. In my mind’s eye, I pictured his tricycle in one corner where he liked to park it. I saw the cream colored hibiscus and the brilliant blue shanku pushpam creeper.
I found myself laughing when I thought about how Vidur enjoyed plucking the ajwain plant’s leaves and eating them, then skipping to the bamboo stand and playing with it. I remembered how we made it a group activity to hang the clothes to dry, making him count the clips and then identify the colors.
It was funny how you would insist on reserving the blue clips for him because he liked blue! And you’d use the softer clips on his clothes. You loved to group similar clothes together on the clothesline so they’d look cute!
When I looked up the pipes running through the duct in the verandah and admired the clean area behind the grate where the pigeons love to stack their twigs and mess up the place. I’ve scraped my knuckles so many times trying to clear that place!
So anyway, I remembered a funny incident and guffawed out loud, alarming the neighbor who was hanging out her clothes. The case of the missing red bra! I had stressed over buying it because it was a tad expensive, but it was so pretty, and there’s something about a red lacy bra that begs to be bought. I succumbed. And hoarded it for a special occasion.
Then one day I wore it. The following day, you offered to hand wash it. Later we hung it on the lower clothesline to dry.
Life went on. The next lot of laundry got done. We brought the dry clothes in. And the red bra was conspicuous by its absence. I was distraught! Where could it disappear? You suggested that I might have probably taken it off the clothesline and put it away in my closet, but no, I hadn’t. Well, we looked in all the likely spots with no luck.
Days passed with nary a sign of the missing garment. Then a month later, when we cleaned out that duct area, you happened to look up and saw a small shred of fabric. You tugged at it with a stick and out came the rest of it. It was none other than the once beautiful lacy red bra.
What the heck happened to it, though? To this day, it remains a mystery. But your theory was the most probable – that a rat might have loved it so much that it tucked it away out of sight to avoid being caught red handed. Yeah, pun intended. And pray, where did the rat come from? There was some major road repair going on at the time and you guessed they had been disturbed out of their abodes. And Vidur naturally claimed he saw a realllllly big one the previous day. What a load of you-know-what!
Just visualizing that moment makes me laugh! You then kept teasing me, asking if I wanted to give it a good wash before using it again. You kept saying soak it in dettol for a couple of days and then maybe…. Ewwwww. Of course we trashed it. Did I find another like it? Nope. Not yet. Still looking.
Funny, eh? How a small space like the verandah can hold such an overdose of memories.
Maybe it is time for me to bring up those steel folding chairs and paint them and set up that cozy place again, so I can reminisce in style with a tumbler of kaapi, as the fragrance of the drying clothes pleasantly swirls around my head, nudging me gently along my favorite path: memory lane.
♥
Rocking the #BarAThon Challenge from 1st to 7th August 2016.
Today’s Day 4 and the prompt is “Caught Red-handed”
I am with Team #CrimsonRush
29 thoughts on “Memory lane and a red bra”
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Ha haa.. the curious case of missing bra. nice memories.. I also have good memories with my kid while hanging clothes.
So much fun, no?
Hahaha!! I can’t decide if it is funny or crazy but I feel for the red bra! Happens to things so often – the ones we buy with extra care! I am not even sure if rats can see color!
Heheh. It was probably flashing the rat! Apparently rats can only see a hint of ultraviolets, blues and greens…. So, no reds! Thank you for coming by Indu!
Haha cute! Right now my 3yr old gives me a headache while I want to finish the task of hanging out clothes. May be in a decade I will miss it & go on a trip in Memory lane 🙂
Truly memorable.
May you succeed in your quest! Online shopping has made it easier to order what we are looking for 😉
I remembered the rat incident at our home where we found Kitchen cleaning-cloth inside the pipe!
Yes, I smiled 🙂
Keep smiling!
Hahaha..yeah..the incident is curious indeed. Hope you find a replacement sometime. 🙂
hahaha…loved how your memory could fish out this incident. I guess the red bra is the culprit that could not make you forget it 😉
Hahaha! Still laughing. Perfect title too, Vidya!
Maybe online shopping is the solution to your quest? 😉
Well……I don’t want to imagine that a nasty rat stole your beautiful red bra. Let’s leave it a mystery, ok? Speaking of red bras, I tease my daughter that when I am old and gray I will still be riding on a motorcycle in my red leather bra — she smiles and silently hopes that day will never come.
Of course I smiled, your post ensured it 😀 I still am. Loved the post, simple down to earth description, that most wondrous path Memory Lane and of course the walk about bra. G and I would dry clothes too when she was little, now she is ten and wont do it 😉
Case of the missing red bra! Wow!
You write so beautifully! It leaves me feeling mesmerised me every time I read a post of yours. And, this Coffee with Mi, well you could go on and on, and I would happily read on and on!
Hehehe! The very moment when such things happen we are red with anger but as they form a part of our memory it becomes laughter!!
Hahaha! That’s the curious case of the red bra! Those were some fond and lovely memories.
Incidentally, I have lost 2 peelers in a span of a week. I dont know how and why it has happened. No rats, pigeons, dogs in the house. I am still wondering about it!
hahaha Here I was thinking that a jealous neighbour may have flicked it. 😉 At least the rat had good taste. 😛
So many treasured moments shared with us all, thank you. Your sensitive writing coupled with your very mischievous streak makes it a wonderful read. Loved it a lot.
I was so lost in your writing… Visualizing the scene… Your words have a warmth that touches the reader… Kind of a sunny winter morning… Beautiful post… And how you find a red bra of your liking… 😉
Haha..never imagined it to be stuck in a duct. Imagine a rat with a red bra! Usually, lost items have a way of springing upon us when we are searching for a different lost item.
Enjoyed reading this, Vidya!
Ouch…that must have been something, to find your cherished red one in shreds! I do hope you find something similar soon.
Ahh! This was perfect read with my afternoon kaapi! The title piqued my curiosity I admit, wondering whether you were going to recount some sleazy memory 😉 Hahaha….but d’rats’! Enjoyed this much!
haha the curious case of the missing red bra. How beautifully you weave us all in your memories, Vidya. Loved this one. And I’m going to decorate my balcony too, you just inspired me 🙂
I love reading memoirs. The verandah must surely be a beautiful place. Your description of each and every memory that you hold of the place makes me realize how every particular corner of our homes holds thousands of stories. I hope you do get a better red lacy bra. Cute that part was! Must have been a squirrel hunting for his nest. 😀
I’ve had the most godawful 24 hours and I so needed to read this to cheer me up. Thank you Vidya!
Lol, rat’s red bra!!! Amusing take on the prompt. But then so agree about reflecting upon our past. It can burp up such wonderful gems.
Haha!! I thought probably the neighbor had an eye on it and you caught her red-handed. Sigh.
Nevertheless, at least you found it, though at a much recluse place, and how it reached there… May be the pigeon once got there or something?
Loved your post 🙂
Cheers
Lol.. so even the rats loved your red bra and decided to use it to cheer up their new home.
Recently Mom lost some freshly washed ginger this way. Not a trace remained. We prefer to think it was a rat. Loved this post Vidya. Warm, humorous and loving. I am sure your mother also must be smiling. 🙂 <3
Can’t stop laughing! The rats were fond of your red bra too! 😉
Vidya, absolutely delightful post!
This is one unique trip down the memory lane!