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Later, she mopped the house
sparkling clean. By her standards,
it was a rigorous form of exercise
bending up and down. She did the
dishes and washed the clothes.

Exhausted and hungry, she sat

down for lunch. Granny had made
rice, dal, and palak subzi, freshly
cut vegetable salad and a huge cup
of fruit salad. There were sprouted
grains and curd too. The dessert was
moong dal kheer. Malini sat down
and relished each morsel of food.

‘Chew the food slowly. You will need to finish off the salads first. And also, the sprouts.’

Granny advised. Malini hadn’t eaten such wonderfully tasty food for a long, long time.
Malini gave a long yawn. ‘I want to sleep.’

‘No, not right away. And that too not immediately after food.’
‘Let’s play a game of chess.’ Granny and Malini played chess for half hour before Granny
checkmated Malini. Malini and Granny had a siesta for a couple of hours. Revived and

rejuvenated, Malini got up. She gave a huge bear smile to Granny.

‘Come, Malu. Have a cup of steaming coffee’. Granny called out from the kitchen.

‘Oh, Granny. Your coffee is delightful. How do you make it?’ Malini was sipping the
coveted cup of coffee.

With a sly smile, Granny said, ‘I grind the coffee beans fresh every day. Today I made it,
but for tomorrow you will have to.’

Malini smiled back, ‘Count me in.’

It was a calm and comforting evening. Earlier, they had gone for a long walk and a ride in
the boat. Later in the evening, they sat outside under the grape-vine canopy looking at the
sky. It was a perfect winding to a long day, which marked a day of difference for Malu.

rigorous: severe or difficult
relished: enjoyed something
checkmated: a winning position in chess in which you put the other player’s king under a direct attack from
which it cannot escape
siesta: rest or sleep taken after lunch
revived: brought something back to health
rejuvenated: made someone feel energetic again
coveted: strongly desired by many
canopy: the branches and leaves that spread out at the top of a group of trees forming a type of roof
winding: finishing

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