It’s been ages since I last wrote. I know, I know 😦

In the interim, life just kept happening….a business growing rapidly, children growing up and moving overseas to study, a death in the family, my own long spells abroad, a book project that nearly consumed me, new friendships that started, old friendships that ended, the cataclysmic effects of demonetization and GST, restructuring the business to stay afloat, inventing new products, staying afloat, expanding our services, staying afloat, treasuring my team, being thrilled that we could stay afloat, then enjoying our capacity to stay afloat, and enjoying the ride of it all…..!

And the urban farm, what about the urban farm?! you may well ask! Well, it survived. And it thrived. Now under the diligent care of my favorite nephew who waters it daily, it still grows for us to eat 🙂

Here’s what’s growin’ on….

Guavas fruiting in large containers on the terrace…

…Cucumber gourds growing fast…

…French beans enjoying the Mumbai winter, and good old grow-in-any-weather Okra…… 

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And, what’s this thing growing….?

It’s a bird, it’s a plane…NO! It’s a SNAKE! A RUBBER SNAKE!!!

Dressed in green and well-camouflaged in strategic corners of our farm, hang several rubber snakes with evil glints in their eyes and vicious fangs exposed…Someone, I don’t recall who now, had offered us this novel suggestion for deterring the marauding tribe of monkeys that frequented our terrace. And so my nephew went off to the market to get us some rubber snakes. And lo and behold! The darn trick actually worked! Monkey visits have lessened, and the few that come by, stay far, far away from our super-deadly reptiles…

So, until the next time, stay cool and stay alive by growin’ some green and danglin’ some snakes!