Lemonade i made...

There are stories, there are memories. And there are recipes. So, here's the story of my memory of a lemonade I made.

Story, memory and recipe- All in one...

Goa, September 2003

Brimming with mirth. Contained by the sea breeze, sun and sand. A night spent by the sea waves and stars. Enthralled by jet skiing and camaraderie, Ashwini and I set out determined, looking for a wholesome vegetarian meal that would suit our nearly-cleaned-out pockets and the hunger pangs, taste buds too.

Time was sparse.

The scheduled departure post-lunch, had left us with little time to say 'good-bye', 'see-u-soon' to the setting sun which would have cast a marvellous glory of colours on the horizon. The point where the land meets the sand and the sand meets the sea and the sea sends its ripples to the glaring-fading sun.

But the sun had some things else planned for us. And we kept walking by the narrow lanes, looking left and right and often at each other. Either out of our budgets or menus a feast for non-veggies, those restaurants just had a way of keeping us out!

………………………compromises. Yes. There are those compromises too in those stories and memories. Hmm…

We settled for a restaurant slightly up our budget. Managed to order a one pot meal-biryani and a portion of yoghurt. That cost us 175 bucks!

And what about some drink to soothe our dry throats? No moolah.

For that, I sat up pretty, head high and chin up. Asked for four slices of lemon… while Ashwini quizzically glanced, wondering what went in my woozy head.

There came the lemon slices and I squeezed it into the tall glass of water laid out for us. “Some sugar please.” I smiled. We stirred away sugar crystals to gulp down the most memorable lemonade of our lives, not once looking around us all the stares the waiters gave us duo…

And when we walked out we were glee with the mischievous lemonade we'd made, and almost satiate with the sumptuous main course.

And forever this would be a lemonade money couldn’t buy!