Summer symphony

The children wait in the heat, eyes looking up towards heavens for some relief. The air is almost solid, heavy, making it difficult to breathe. The anticipation is almost as unbearable as those beads of sweat that stubbornly trace their way across the skin. No relief in sight.

Brown eyes gaze up at the blindingly white, unrelenting sky. Dense atmosphere sits heavy on the heart, while the ground below cracks as you walk on it. Silently, they beseech the gods, and wait.

Then they see the signs. The sun hides, as the earth senses help is on the way. The air, hanging so still earlier, gains fluidity, and whispers conspiratorially, taunting without promising. The dust wakes up and joins in, and as if marking its presence, pigments the sky yellow. The stage is set, and all await the arrival of the whimsical star of the show.

And then, without warning, they descend. They can't be contained, just as the schoolkids can't be. They dash out to welcome the outpour. The sky thunders, and lets itself loose. The earth sighs in relief, redolent of innocent happiness. The parched cracks dissolve, as does the heaviness in the air. The thunder punctuates the children's laughter, as their mothers keep vigil from the safe, dry quarters. The rhythm, soft at first, embarks on the crescendo. The firmament moves through shades of blue, growing deeper, till it reaches midnight blue at the climax. Midnight blue, with occasional silver linings. The symphony's notes splash over the strings of the soul as the heavens keep track of the cadence. And as the children jump into puddles of joy the tempo starts to decrease. The orchestra moves towards the conclusion of the performance, the children reluctantly head back to warmth.

And then the clouds part company, with a promise to come back next summer.

Superhero (?)

I've been away from home for quite some time, and after these fifteen days, would be away from another couple of months. Well, lots of things happen while I'm away, and my family fills me in.

This post is about the stray (one of them rather) that has adopted us, he's a dog who we call Doggie. (I've blogged about him earlier too, check out the older posts). Now, Doggie is a very responsible guy. He would come and drop you to the gate of the colony, from where you could get an auto. Not satisfied with just this, he occasionally puts his forelegs in the auto, as if to enquire whether everything is ok or not.

Well, last month he did something quite unforgettable (in more than one sense this word conveys). You see, our insurance agent had come home once, for some formalities regarding our car. Now, he wanted to see the interiors of the car. So well, my mom gave him the keys, and told him Doggie won't bite. And that the insurance guy should ignore Doggie baring his teeth, and barking unceasingly. Well, my mom couldn't convince Doggie that this guy meant no harm, and that he wouldn't have stolen the car. Doggie tried his best scaring that guy away, but when he saw that this guy was getting into his (ours, actually) car he couldn't resist. Despite my mom and sister shouting and waving some sorta stick, Doggie went and (luckily) caught the agent's trousers at the heel.

My mother and sister then rushed to the scene, and had to hit Doggie to get him to leave the harried and scared-to-death insurance agent. Doggie wasn't amused, and thought they were being really dumb and over-confident. But then again, if mom and sis were so sure of what they were doing, he decided not to bother. After all, they won't have the car once that guy was done.

Well, the insurance agent quickly finished all the formalities, and told my mother that they would be contacting us soon, and then left. My mom, in the middle of telling my dad the inspection was done (she left the exact details for later), and praying that the agent won't sue us, and other things she does, tried making amends with Doggie with quite a substantial serving of eggs and buttered bread and stuff that Doggie really likes. Doggie wasn't amused. Probably this was about principles more than anything else. So he sulked till my dad came home, and then before my mom could justify herself, the prosecution launched a barrage of accusations before the judge could even enter his house. My dad wasn't really understanding what had gone wrong, and hence turned to the witness (my sister) who then filled him in with the details.

So then my dad promised Doggie justice would be delivered and then came inside. Upon learning that Doggie was on some sort of hunger strike, he went and apologized on the family's behalf, (and I'm guessing made an offer of a few biscuits Doggie likes) and only after a lot of cajoling, did our hero relent. My mom then put extra milk and extra cream in his dinner.

Sweet, isn't it? :)

(PS. The next Sunday, we had to take our car to the insurance office to get the job done.)

snow in delhi

The lowest temperature (till the time today's newspaper was printed) in Delhi was 1.9 degrees. That too daytime temp. Heard an NDTV reporter wondering what things would be like if Delhi hits zero degree celcius. Freezing point of water. So got me thinking (as some or the other Delhiite I know does every winter), what would it be like if it snows in Delhi...

I tried imagining snow on Rajpath. The golden glow of India Gate diffused through the pearly white of snow. NH8 all covered up in snow. Snow on the 'mast' of 'That Ship-Buliding' in Gurgaon. Snow on all the round-abouts the city has. The huge expanse between the North and South Blocs, all calmly white.

Snow around the numerous pillars in Connaught Place. On the neon lights. On the stars (stars with names and stuff of Bollywood's who's who) at PVR Saket. Lotus temple standing pure and serene, the pools surounding it all frozen and still, and a beautiful white carpet laid on the stairs there. Snow on the roof of Palika Bazaar. The streamlined Metro busily streaking along the snow-laden bridges. Yamuna ambling along, while the snowflakes fall merrily on her... White mingling with blue (well, at least before the sewer and other drains pour their black and dark venom into it). The airport would be in a sorry state though. The trains, with their yellow boards showing the destinations covered with dollops of fresh white snow.

Snow at the flyovers, with the reflectors peeping out from their white blankets and blinking as you pass them by. Snowflakes sitting playfully on the LEDs on traffic-signal (red-yellow-green lights) that tell you how much time till the signal changes; almost teasing and taunting you. Snow on the watch-tower of my school, the silvery white confetti that the Big Bell would spray around while chiming at 3 pm every weekday.

Snowfall at Aravalis (that is the Jawaharlal Nehru University region - also close to my place). Snowfall on my window. Doggie and Co. being Rudolph and other reindeer inc.

Beautiful, wouldn't it be?

:)