REFLECTIONS ON A HOT SUMMER'S DAY

My best friend in the park

Facing the searing heat of May with no respite predicted in the days to come is not an enviable position.  We keep looking up hungrily for the elusive sign of some cottony clouds but not lucky as yet. It is the prerogative only of north  India to be in the vise like grip of the scorching malady.

The golden sunlight which we prize in the winters is scalding the earth and its entire species. Hot winds are debilitating the mind as well as the body. The bright dazzling light pierces the eyes and burns the skin. You smell heat, feel heat and see heat in the milieu around.The drooping withered vegetation recounts a sad tale.

Thank God there are no power cuts so far, though the tacit warning is lurking in everybody’s mind that as soon as the farmers start paddy plantation, extra power would be diverted for tubewell operations resulting in scheduled power cuts. Better not to think of it till it actually happens. Like it is said, cross the bridge when you’ve to. At the moment it feels like tearing one’s sweaty clothes when the stickiness of the perspiration pricks you. The thoughtful ones wear threadbare and worn out dresses(at home of course) kept especially for this weather. The whirling fans circulate the same hot air. If there is some respite it is the air conditioner’s cool air. The power charges are skyrocketing in Punjab and while you enjoy the cool comfort, you guiltily think of the inflated bills in the coming months.

In spite of the oppressive heat, we successfully manage year after year to withstand summer onslaught with cool fruity drinks like that of watermelon, juicy musk melons, variety of shakes, nimbu pani and delicious sherbets to refresh and restore the depleted energy.

Strange enough even this hullabaloo about the soaring mercury doesn’t dampen the human spirit. We are spiritually programmed to stay upbeat. Human courage is endowed with ‘never say die’ attitude. It is uniquely adjustable. It can stand the intense heat of the plains and sandy deserts. It can endure the most difficult terrains. It can survive the coldest climes. It overcomes the devastating tsunamis. It sails in the vast seas to explore and discover the newest lands. It has set foot on the moon and is planning to send humans onto the Mars. Already the adventurous and the bold have booked their seats in the first flight to the Mars. Human spirit is unbeatable specially in its capacity to bounce back. Its resilience amazes.

In spite of the sizzling summer life moves on. There is no stopping the vibrant flow of life. People may whine and complain but carry on nevertheless. My dear friend the cuckoo keeps on regaling the initiated with its sonorous notes. The impish squirrel capers around me during my early morning walk. Its exuberance is infectious. Sweet little thing tries to humor me. We’ve a bond beyond words. So many other birds carry on conversations amongst themselves while hopping around. This is the beauty of life .

Just see, we’re already taking comfort in the anticipated showers of monsoon. And while braving the stifling humidity of August and September will start waiting for the invigorating mild warmth of November and so on and so forth. God is great and so kind to gift us such magnificent cyclic clock of nature.

“Never does nature say one thing and wisdom another”. - Juvenal

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