Though it is physically exhausting, this sweltering heat nevertheless triggers pleasant memories of past vacations. The scent of the earth, of fallen leaves, of ripening jackfruit -- all reminiscent of the bright mornings, when, alone at home, I sat engrossed in an Earl Stanley Gardner or Enid Blyton.... Strangely enough this time of the year also brings to mind the very serious preparation for annual exams!
The burning heat also was a sign of the approaching monsoon, steadily taking shape somewhere in the West, to lash out in June, signalling the end of vacations and beginning of a fresh academic year....
Decades down the lane, things have sadly changed. There are no more proper vacations; chances of summer rains dwindling by the year; monsoons no longer lashing.... But, the scent of the earth, leaves and the jackfruit still remain, inspiring nostalgia.
But isn't nostalgia rather painful? Because when the westerlies blow away the heat in the evenings, though it brings a smile, it also sadly reminds one that none of those days can be retrieved....
I miss vacations, I miss the summer rains, I miss the benign thunderstorms, I miss my college (a real beauty in the few minutes leading up to rain, with rows of tall casuarina trees, stone benches). But, most of all, I miss the simplicity of those days.
Category:Personal Experience
