In India, especially in Kochi (where I grew up) and Mumbai (where I have worked most) there are essentially
two seasons in a year - summer and monsoon...
When the sweltering sun makes life muggy and your clothes stick to your skin, a collective prayer rises for relief...and by June or July, the monsoons stomp their way through India...
My land, Kerala turns a very pretty shade of green in the monsoons...The rains bring with it lovely contrasts of green against the red soil that cool the eye....and there's this particular smell that rises from the parched earth when the first drops of rain re-seal the dry cracked surface of the earth...
Catching the first drops of rain remains a fascination for me...though I must confess, the mad Mumbaikars take this craze to a totally different level...
From being soaked in your sweat to standing drenched to the bone in the monsoons, sipping chai or biting into corn cobs, liberally sprinkled with lime and masalas...those were my seasons, those were what I looked forward to...
I came to Brighton in autumn and immediately decided this was the prettiest season...Many warned me about spring stealing autumn's thunder...I refused to budge....But after braving a rather harsh Winter and the unprecedented snow it brought along for the visit this time, this sight that greeted me earlier this week brought a smile on....
The Sun shines more these days, that's not to say that Winter is ready to give way so easily....the nights are still brrrrr- cold and in the morning, the grass seems frosty white....but these bulbs daring the winter chill tell me its Spring Time...Beware: The Sun is deceptive, if you leave your sweaters behind at home, miscalculating the meagre warmth on a bright sunny day, then you can cuss yourself blue as you walk back frozen to the bone...But then after the bland wintry landscape, its time for a riot of colours...
In the time span when India's coastal climate progressed from relatively mild to warm to hot and muggy weather, I moved from autumn to winter to spring....Now I know my seasons...They aren't just what was taught in Geography classes and understood by internalising Byron and Keats' description...Now I have my sights and my words to share...There's a spring in my step too these days as I head for the final classes of this term, and Spring is in the Air!!!
( P.S The pretty pictures of rain in Kerala: Courtesy my brother Anand's wonderful eye for photography. Prettier pictures of English Spring shall follow..These ones are to just herald the arrival of Spring!!! )
two seasons in a year - summer and monsoon...
When the sweltering sun makes life muggy and your clothes stick to your skin, a collective prayer rises for relief...and by June or July, the monsoons stomp their way through India...
My land, Kerala turns a very pretty shade of green in the monsoons...The rains bring with it lovely contrasts of green against the red soil that cool the eye....and there's this particular smell that rises from the parched earth when the first drops of rain re-seal the dry cracked surface of the earth...
Catching the first drops of rain remains a fascination for me...though I must confess, the mad Mumbaikars take this craze to a totally different level...
From being soaked in your sweat to standing drenched to the bone in the monsoons, sipping chai or biting into corn cobs, liberally sprinkled with lime and masalas...those were my seasons, those were what I looked forward to...
I came to Brighton in autumn and immediately decided this was the prettiest season...Many warned me about spring stealing autumn's thunder...I refused to budge....But after braving a rather harsh Winter and the unprecedented snow it brought along for the visit this time, this sight that greeted me earlier this week brought a smile on....
The Sun shines more these days, that's not to say that Winter is ready to give way so easily....the nights are still brrrrr- cold and in the morning, the grass seems frosty white....but these bulbs daring the winter chill tell me its Spring Time...Beware: The Sun is deceptive, if you leave your sweaters behind at home, miscalculating the meagre warmth on a bright sunny day, then you can cuss yourself blue as you walk back frozen to the bone...But then after the bland wintry landscape, its time for a riot of colours...
In the time span when India's coastal climate progressed from relatively mild to warm to hot and muggy weather, I moved from autumn to winter to spring....Now I know my seasons...They aren't just what was taught in Geography classes and understood by internalising Byron and Keats' description...Now I have my sights and my words to share...There's a spring in my step too these days as I head for the final classes of this term, and Spring is in the Air!!!
( P.S The pretty pictures of rain in Kerala: Courtesy my brother Anand's wonderful eye for photography. Prettier pictures of English Spring shall follow..These ones are to just herald the arrival of Spring!!! )
