Some say it’s only the beginning but those who’ve endured it for years know ‘if it’s hot, it must be summer’ because no one’s experienced a cold one ! However, what portends is instead of the progressive hot, hotter and hottest in the next three months, ‘weather’ pundits are making claims like ‘hottest day in the last 20 years’ for certain parts of the country. Add to this there’s plenty of ‘garma-garmi’ generated in the ‘heat and dust’ of political campaigns, yet the weather has been given credit for the low voter turnout !
For those who grew up in the plains of Northern India, one prepared for the on-set of summer soon after Holi was over and woolens went back into the trunks with mothballs. In the pre-global warming times and pollution crises that hit some of the big cities, we as students in the 1960s-70s actually loved this season for the two month long vacation and many fun activities lined up. Trips to ‘Mamar-bari’ in Kolkata would be planned & if didn’t materialize for some reason, we had cousins and friends coming over for the hols.
The summer had it’s intense blazing heat with dry,hot winds called ‘loo’ sweeping across through better part of the day, sunny skies would be bereft of clouds and Moms would try to keep us indoors in sweltering afternoons. But ‘young boys will be frisky boys’, we couldn’t be house-tied and would slink off to meet friends, play cricket, seven tiles and ‘gulli-danda’ in nearby parks or even our own garden. Those were the days of frugal fans and earthern pots (later room & Khas coolers and fridge entered lives). AC for us meant ‘Alternating Current’ as opposed to DC ! Luxuries like modern day ACs didn’t exist but one didn’t feel need for it, not strangely as we loved the open skies and braved the heat !
Watching wonderful films during the summer vacations was also adolescent ‘coming of age’ for us. Who from our time would forget ‘Summer of’42’, the 1971 classic where like the young protagonist, we all idolized someone much older and ethereally beautiful. As the story goes, Hernie a 15 year old boy goes to Nantucket Island on a summer vacation. However, he meets lovely Dorothy there and falls in love with her while she’s amused with him. The drama takes a twist when she gets news of her husband’s death in WW II !
It now seems like the summer is time to take a vacation abroad or to a cool hill resort ( for the affluent) & even the ‘mango man’ wants to take refuge to cooler climes if he can afford it. But indoor home time is so valuable for the family and for one’s own calling : finish books you started, learn a new craft, catch that film or complete that painting, creativity has no limits !
Working on Living 