I must have been seven. We spent two months in our village when school would be closed. Vacation time was a time for fun. We spent the time in our hometown in Kerala. Kerala back in the seventies was green with a capital G. Coconut trees were everywhere. Gently flowing rivers crisscrossed the land. Grandfather had a big family. He built a big house to accommodate his entire brood. Uncles, aunties, cousins, babies, and old balding relations lived in the house, and there was still room to spare. Once, I counted the rooms, and there were eleven on each floor. There was enough room to run around and play without getting in the way of the elders. Three of my cousins were my age, and our idea of fun was to run all around the house, making a racket. During one of our races around the house, we saw a… Two months in our village