Solapur style mutton kheema balls | सोलापूर पद्धतीचे मटन खिम्याचे गोळे

During my school summer vacation I used to visit every year. My mausi used to make excellent 'kheemyache gole'. Those lazy summer vacations were about doing almost nothing - I used to hang out at my maushi's place and spent time with my elder sister. My mother and younger brother used to stay at my Aaji's place which was nearby. The afternoon's used to be super hot with the tar on top of the roads melting. Everyone used to just sleep off the heat. After 5pm it used to cool down and the town would come awake.

We saw at least a movie each year. Visited my Aajoba's garage to play in the oiled soil. We used to drink sugarcane juice at 'Poonekar Kamte' at Daffrin chowk. I used to go to the Kaljapur Maruti mandir with my Aaji. Sometime even to shop for groceries.

Sometime my cousins from Kolhapur used to also come down. Then it was a lot of activity. Aaji used to get a large basket of 'chokhi aamba' (small mangoes which we suck the juice out of) and all of us had a free hand. Then there was the ice-cream making activity. My youngest mama used to get the ice from the ice factory and then we used to put Aapus aamba and milk and sugar in the ice-cream maker and work it. It was a lot of fun and the ice-cream used to be awesome. We used to go the Park to eat pani poori and pav-chatni.

In the earlier years when I was younger my Aajoba had taken us on several drives to nearby places in one of the many cars he kept building at the garage.

This all happened till my grandparents were alive. My mother used to cry while leaving every year - as did my Aaji and Aajoba both. We used to head back in the Siddheshwar express which left at about 8:30pm. It reached Kurla at about 6am next morning. Then the auto ride to the campus ... and home!

By the time we got back the first rains would have turned the campus into a beautiful heavenly place.