120 Days of Summer

As we enter May, it would be completely wrong to say that summer has just started. On the contrary, summer is now on its glistening high! Summer has begun in its characteristic way as always. At the start of February, summer starts to tiptoe around. Its presence is hinted with the increasing length of days, the soft and mild breezes that float around, the beautiful and bright blossoms, and most of all the rise in the temperatures.

The added highlight of this season is vacations! The academic years near an end and the plans of holidays start to take shape. The hobby classes, visits to native places, and most of all lying around and relaxing! There is hardly any other season that allows this! The very last papers of the academic year are equivalent to going on war and emerging victorious. The legit sense of freedom and un-accountability that summer brings in is that what makes it special!

Every season, I feel brings in its unique color palette. Maybe that's why all the bright colors are seen around in summer. The entire atmosphere is bright and full of light. The same thing is reflected in the flowers and fruits of this season. They are all in shades of yellow, orange, red, pink, and a touch of white. The majestic "Gulmohar" next to my building is the prettiest this time around. The orangish flowers of the "Gulmohar" accompanied by its cool shade are my favorite.

In India, there are added "summer jobs" that are seen happening exclusively in summer. The prominent amongst them consists of the pickle making. Along with that, there are a lot of home-made specialties that are preserved throughout the year,  that require to be prepared in summer. Perhaps that is why the terrace of houses is seen bustling with ladies busy in preparations and with kids, ready to eat some of it! Another common addition to the Indian household is that of the earthen clay pot used to store drinking water.

Unlike the rest of the seasons, summer in India does not bring an excessive amount of festivities. It is simpler that way. However here summer in itself is a festival.  A lot of people have hated summers for it sucks out life, in their opinion. But I want to ask, have you ever seen the water in the summer? Glimmering in the heat and light and yet maintaining its coolness, flaunting an inviting shade of blue? The beauty of water in summer is that it makes you want to take a swim and not sit on the shore. Also, how can we forget the"summer fruits?"  It is the season to welcome and relish the king of fruits; Mangoes! With mangoes, all breakfast, lunch, and dinner problems are sorted!

Of all the things that summer offers the best part is the "vacations!" Most of our vacations are spent with visits from our out of town cousins and relatives. My mother often recounts her summer vacations spent on family farms with her cousins. The tree climbing, learning to swim from the elder cousins, and just eating and roaming and laughing and fooling around are some of the things that she has mentioned in detail every-time. Vacation, in general, are similar more or less everywhere. In my generation, it was gathering on the roof-top at night and listening to faraway tales from the grandparents and elders, and the rest of the day spent playing and lazing around & eating ice-creams.

In many ways, summer has always brought us so many moods of being relaxed which we require to face the rest of the year. Be it staying up late at night just having fun with cousins and enjoying the brotherhood or waking up late in the morning, be it watching T.V all afternoons or playing on the grounds with no worries of anything, this season has given us so many things all these years. Even now as a generation outgrows the "summer vacations" concept, the new generation looks forward to it like we did. That's the thing about summer. It's the most underappreciated of all seasons, in my opinion. It is perhaps the heat and water problems that are always at the forefront these days. Regardless, the beauty of summer has made it my favorite season of all time. And why not? For it is the only time of the year that we enjoy without reason!