Watermelons in winter...

This morning, a street vendor passed by selling mangoes and 'avarekai'. Was a time when mangoes spelt summertime and 'avarekai' (vaal in Gujarati) was the special vegetable that heralded the onset winter. My mother says that farmers offered the first crop of this gorgeous bean to the Maharajah during Dussera. 
Now, we have avarekai all year round and watermelons in winter....
I mourn the passing of the tradition when fruits and vegetables and flowers were our almanacs and calendars...

"Avarekkai"