Thursday, May 1, 2014

Oh Calcutta!


Summer in Calcutta is unbearable! It is impossibly hot, humid & sultry. We came to Calcutta on 29th April. Although the sun’s intensity is same as it is in Pune, the humidity makes the weather worse. It is hot, sticky and sometimes the air is still and unmoving, so not a particle of sweat can evaporate, leading to a close, airless feeling. In such an atmosphere, I could really bless the inventors of air conditioning and pity the fate of hapless people who had to face the harsh heat of the afternoon sun.
       The heat changes the character of people too, making them irritable and angry, flaring up at the least of provocations. Yesterday was impossibly hot- in the afternoon when I entered the kitchen it felt like an oven.
       Today morning the weather has changed. A cool fresh breeze is blowing which is not only refreshing but magical. I was wondering how the hot air of the previous day could so suddenly give way to this sort of cool refreshing breeze. Within a few short hours the hot stale air was swept away by the force of the cool new wind giving respite to oppressed men ,animals and plants. The winds of change. The winds of revolution and new beginnings. How sweet it feels. Hope this fresh new weather of Calcutta lasts for a long while, not merely till morning gives way to afternoon.