Guava trees!

The first guava tree I remember was at my mom’s ancestral home. The guava was a mini guava variety, the size of a berry. It was very sour when raw and got better as it ripened. We would never get it ripened as it will be found by squirrels or some cousin before the smaller kids like us got to it. 

Then there was one at the seminary where my parents studied. This was a tall old guava tree! Huge guavas for my small hands. I just remember it being very tall and we needed a big stick to pluck it. Perhaps everything seemed bigger for the little me, and the guava tree was just average. I hade no memory of how it tasted. 

The next tree was at Holy Cross Church. I could proudly swing and pull myself up and even land on the inaccessible terrace through that tree. I was also nicknamed “monkey” for my act by the other Sunday school kids. The guava was medium sized and a tasty treat. It  had fruits almost, all the time. 

Then there’s Ravi’s guava tree. We were going to rehearsals one day, as I went to pick him up, I noticed a yellowish green ready to eat guava, that I could pluck from his wall. I climbed the wall and took by first bite there. The guava was juicy, very sweet! This was the BEST guava I’ve ever had. Years later, when I had been to Ravi’s house for Onam (yesterday)  he gave me a bag full of them. I’m yet to find that perfect yellow-green-sweet guava that made my soul leave my body, eons ago.