Summer mornings and everything else......

Raging heat waves, in my neck of the woods,do not come up for discussions at the dinner table.We are in the midst of one.They offer so much more than the obvious discomfort and agony.Heat in India does not only roast or bake the parched soil and already ravaged human bodies further,but it proves crucial for the colours and fragrances of the summer.Colours of the flaming orange of the KESUDA,canary sparkling yellow of the GARMALO (amaltas),the pink and the yellow cassia,and the melange of the happy red,orange and yellow of the GULMOHAR.What a riot of bright and fiery shades!And add to this,the tangy,lemony fresh fragrance of the parrot green SHIRISH....

What a breath taking spectacle the early summer morning offers,when i walk/jog/trundle/run on the roads,lined haphazardly by these trees.The ongoing,merciless heat wave,as in the past,had to be mellowed by cloudy,relatively cooler morning skies.Strange- seem the ways of nature-strange- they are not,compassionate and considerate-they generally are.Cloud covers in the subcontinental skies have a very sobering effect on human behaviour.The noise levels,either a result of raised and charged decibels of human larynx,or, from the obsessive,compulsive,neurotic malady engulfing all subcontinental drivers-HONKING-,go down dramatically.Early morning times,anyway,are vulnerable and defenseless periods for us,humans.Clouds and coolness bring that queer phenomenon out,in the open !

Back to the colours and the aromas....
Extreme cold or cooler climes have quiet,stillness and greyness as their salient features and allies.It is either cold and deathly white or morbid,drab and depressing grey ruling the landscapes.The mountains wear a look,that one usually associates with poker faced,expressionless, blank faced guards at the British prime minister's residence.The trees are stark naked,sans any foliage,reminiscent of withered,emaciated skeletons in the anatomy dissection rooms..The bone chilling winds threaten the inhabitants,with as much of disdain and contempt for human endurance, as the heat haze and dust storms;raked up by the Indian summer,do!No surprise,that the depression lifts with every passing month, as westerners,arrive closer to spring and summer.

And the aroma...Where on earth shall we conjure up the absolutely divine fragrance of THE KING-Alphonso.No where but in India!Get me the heavenly sweet,lingering fragrance left on my fingers,after i have licked them dry of the mango juice,and i shall retreat,from all that i have written for the heat and against the cold!And where on earth do you get the hair- raisingly sour and sweet,magenta coloured FALSA.The hypnotisingly fragrant musk melon and the thirst-quenching,blood red water-melon may miss out on the attention,almost always reserved for the mangoes,but they really complete the unique and special smells, colours and tastes of the Indian summer!

So much for the sights and beauty of the heat.Today morning,it was predictably cloudy and hence cool.....It had to be!What with energy sapping,merciless,cruel, dry heat of Ahmedabad, yesterday.Inhabitants here,in Ahmedabad,become very predictable in their reactions in April and May.The sound bytes of 2008,could well have been recorded in 1967,or any other year.Every year,every single year,the temperatures are the highest and the oppression felt-the worst.The eyeballs that such cribbers get have now dwindled and have become a laughing stock.

But today was different.Covered skies and cool breeze made the morning ritual,more tolerable.The already mentioned colours and the aromas felt even more captivating.The yellow garlands embellishing the amaltas trees,easily outnumbered the spat and polished,freshly arrived leaves.The other members of the rainbow team-the cassias,gulmohars and cordias,added splendour and crispy freshness to the morning.

What was different,compared to the harsh and hot mornings was the behaviour of my fellow inhabitants and lo and behold!-the animals as well.i have always been biased about my views over the beast of burden-the donkey.They have always reminded me of a mature and wise philosopher at work.The natural detachment,indifference to the world at large,lost-deep in thoughts-look ,could easily find a host of takers among the thinkers and philosophers.Such immense depth,is rare-nay-unparalleled and non-existent in the living beings.I found two of them by the roadside,hold your breath,standing-(they always stand,has anyone seen a sleeping or a sitting donkey? under the shade of an overgrown shrub.They were spoilt for choices,what with all the thick,shady trees at their disposal!But then who is to reason with the wise heads?
On the left stood the youngish grey one,and on to the right was a spotlessly white,older head.
As is their hallmark and strength,both were unfazed by the flies humming around and the dust and bits of scraps flying around them.Such a perfect picture if equanimity and nonchalance!They looked like fiercely committed sentinels,guarding the overgrown weed,on either side.What made their calmness more noticeable was the ruckus created by a couple of stray dogs in their immediate vicinity.Now these dogs ,inherently, are overly playful and almost unnecessarily at that.It does not get more obvious than,when two dogs,very early in the morning,fight over a rag and a bit of torn,polythene bag.Having observed them indulge in this seemingly stupid game of running round in circles,chasing each other,i have tried to find the reason or method in their madness.I have failed,so far.These two were not even young ,to be given a benefit of doubt of being petulant or impetuous,because of their immaturity.They wore looks of wisened,scarred,battle-hardened warriors.Look,what a little difference in the weather makes to the behaviors!The absence of dust storms was dutifully compensated by their overcharged overtures.I felt intrigued and irritated.But their immediate neighbours did not even offer so much of a glance,to their fun and game.So much was on view to learn from!The donkeys advocated stoic indifference and detached involvement on one hand and the playful canines bore a torch to finding fun and joy from seemingly mundane,monotonous and routine chores.What depth ,what wisdom!And all this time i was made to think that we were the wisest!

The next lap of one kilometer took me to a tea kiosk,by the roadside.What cacophony even in hushed tones!What noise and chaos!We humans,cold or heat,will never change!We are now blase about heat or cold,rain or clouds,wind or gales.When shall we respect silence and nature ? May be ,never!