Summer Rains

The heat and dust has settled temporarily!! Though dust storms continue to sweep the city, there is an amount of respite.....The fragrance of the soil heralds the arrival of showers, which are soothed by the clasps of thunder and lightening!!As the rains wash down the city, suddenly the clay pots and 'machine ka thanda paani' seem a thing of the past. There is a sudden thrill along with the chill in the air. Even the squeals of the mosquitoes have subsided..........

Sitting in my room, I open the backdoor allowing the breeze to caress my face.....the pitter-patter of the raindrops hums a soft tune....With occasional thunder rolling down, the dark clouds give the hope of more showers......Watching the trees and the earth soaked with the first rains in Summer rekindles the childhood innocence....of trying to dance in the rain, splash the puddles of water, and bring out one's creativity through paper boats!! As the night advances, rains don much more magical attires!! The calmness of the night is broken by the cries of the peacocks......in those thick jungles still untouched by the increasing human forays, there could be sights of peacocks spreading their serenic aura....................where the snakes could still offer a tough challenge to the mongooses...................where Neelgais roam about in a carefree manner.................

Summer Showers have its own unique charms, for it announces the impending arrival of the monsoon.......people build new theories of these squalls calling them signs of the phenomenon called Global Warming; call it by whatever name, rains also lock people up in their charming worlds............They also bring an unsual and unwanted lethargy...............Though avoidable, such laziness is often ignored............all this because in an ever moving world, 'getting wet' is often a big spoke in the wheel of time!!

Summer-What a Time!!

Life has gone topsy-turvy these days. The 'discipline' in real sense is lacking; some exterior force is out to create chaos. The seriousness one needs has been making a slow progress. Life's order has been turned upside down. The tension is not just physical, but mental too, with the ever-pervasive fear of the purse strings becoming too loose to be tied up!!And there is only one scapegoat to take the blame.......SUMMER!!

Of all the seasons, the Summer months not only mean sweaty bodies, sun strokes and sun-burnt skins, but also physical weakness. As the fluids are sucked off the body, relief seems a far away mirage!!Water now costs more than fossil fuels.........The purses also take a heavy beating in the scorching heat..........The medical costs increase.....the nights are expected to offer more coolness.....but sometimes that is no guarantee!!If the windows are closed, then heat would take a monstrous shape, and if the windows are opened to let the cool breeze in, then there is the soft music of the mosquitoes!! The water crises deepens, with supply of water getting down to a trickle.....So bath seems a luxury at times!! But the bad body odour forces one to undertake this phenomenon not once, but twice in the day!!And as the cool water flows down of the shower, you decide that the paradise on earth is certainly not Kashmir, but your very bathrooms.........If water supply is the itching area, then the costs of electricity add to your woes in these months.....The supply is also a headache with frequent breakdowns, adding to the running sweat!! The various cooling devices in the form of coolers and air conditioners add to your electricity bills, as behind "every boon, there is a curse too"!!

Cost-cutting measures are also distant dreams......Even your food habits change adding to your expenses!!Fruits, juices, health drinks, revitalizers, refreshners and call it whatever you like.....all do give respite, but can dry up your pockets!! Summer is also famously associated with holidaying!! So, trips to higher reaches are the norm.......Trips to the Alps and Himalayas make families add revenue to the transportation agencies namely, flights and trains......As educational institutions close down for two months, the parents of the brats pray that the institutions open up early!!But bills of coaching classes and personality development programmes also rise up, as the mercury shoots up!!

So, Summer effectively means High Costs and Burning up of your hearts!! In the midst of all this, there is also a Dissertation to be written.....Will the Concept of Socialist Market Economy of China Under Deng Xiaoping fall in the right place given such severity of the situation?? It should, for this Summer is also a decider for my Research Life........Its a perfect time to do 'Re-Search'!!