Yesterday evening, the cats suddenly came in growling, which usually means that someone is coming up the slope. Or perhaps that monkeys are around. Sonati went out to look, and then called me to see: A peacock.

The boys and she have seen them before, fleeting glimpses, which I have always contrived to miss. This time, I got such a clear view at close quarters…just there, near the lemon tree.

It was such a great feeling: all we could do was smile.

That reminded me of a smile at Bangalore cantonment railway station. All4 of us were returning home, waiting for the train. At the Nandini’s kiosk, the boys had milk and we had coffee without sugar, and were buying some goodies for the journey.

There were some tempting-looking “home-made” biscuits, in three varieties: sweet, salty, neutral. I asked for the price and the vendor said, “3 for 10 Rs”. I wanted four of each sort, but after pondering a bit, he told me to take three of each. That would be 30 Rs.

After he had counted them in, I said, “Wait. Give me one more of each. That’s 10 Rs more; so here’s 40 Rs.”

As he counted in 1 more from each of the piles, he understood what he had done. And smiled.