Instead Of Seasonal Joy, Look At All The Joy Each Season Brings!

From the chill of winter mornings, to eating ice creams in hot summer afternoons, to the smell of wet earth in the rains, here’s to loving each season for the joys it brings.

It was an extremely cold and chilly morning with dense fog hanging around and hiding everything- trees, people, roads and even buildings near me. Delhi is known to be cold around this time of the year, but to me, that day seemed colder than the coldest. I stepped out of my hostel (its name proved quite apt that day- Kailash) and tried, carefully, to walk to the main building where we had classes.

Protecting my body with a multitude of layers of warm clothes, like a plump cocoon, I kept walking, slowly. I paced my steps carefully since the fog didn’t allow me to see even a metre ahead of me. And I tried using every other sense to avoid hitting or being hit by the fellow junta that generally moved in a hurry at this time. Students and professors, who mostly scurry for classes at this hour but were somehow unwelcome by the mighty fog of the day. It seemed like the fog relished in secret pleasure at arresting their standard fast pace.

“Hey gorgeous!” the voice said from behind me. His voice was so coarse that I would have recognised it even among million others. It was Deep, my lanky friend. I didn’t even have to turn around to see him. He increased his pace to catch up with me and when he did, I glanced at him, slightly turning my covered head.

A simple jacket hung from his pointy shoulders. “Wow. You seem to be enjoying this weird weather,” I said raising my hands to cover my numb nose.

“Of course! I enjoy all kinds of weather,” he said grinning and stretching his thin arms.

I like my ice cream frozen, not my nose!

“But I only like summers,” I interrupted, my hands still covering my still numb nose. “I like it when I can relish ice-creams and don’t need to pack myself in all these layers. My feet don’t get cold and nose doesn’t freeze like now.”

Never miss real stories from India's women.

Register Now

I paused before continuing, “I don’t even like the rains because it is all dirty, damp and wet all around. Well, I really hope this weather gets over soon and I can see my source of energy- the sun. Oh! How I long to see the sun.”

Soon a despondent look passes my face, AccuWeather shows that there will be no sun for the next four days. I mutter to myself about how much I hate the weather. All the while, Deep was listening to me, but made no comments.

After class, while we were at the coffee corner, he tried to pick up the thread from where I left it in the morning.

“So, what were you saying… you don’t like this weather?” he began.

Every season brings happiness

‘Oh no! Please don’t start this again,” I said as I shivered and tried to warm my hand with the little heat the coffee cup provided. He took a long sip and shook his head with a fast jerk. It was his signature move whenever he wanted to make a point.

“You must enjoy every kind of weather,” he started professing. “Every weather carries it’s own lustre and beauty. Winters, I believe, showers bundles of freshness and love. The mighty green tress, breathing and puffing with a gust of fresh air.

“Oh! And the beautiful sight of the variety of flowers blooming at their best, spreading their fragrance all around. Birds singing their sweet voices, and the cold air caressing them with warm love. Also, when there is no sun you get a chance to look at the nature in its different charm. A totally different mood, different make up, you could say.”

I kept listening to him as I sipped my coffee, momentarily looking at his face and then at the sky. “This. Standing here, shivering and savouring hot coffee, can’t we consider that a wonderful feeling?” he asked before walking to drop his  cup in the dustbin. By now, he had already triggered a shift in my paradigm.

Nature has secret stores for each season

‘Yes, I do kind of like it, some times,’ I thought to myself. “Okay. You may be right,” I screamed. “But what about the rains when there are puddles and mud. And everything feels cold and wet. You can’t possibly love that weather,” I claimed, shrugging a little.

“Why not?” he replied, making his eyes big. “Think of all the farmers dependent on the rains. For the food you eat comes because of these rains. The rejuvenated rivers, ponds and lakes. Think of all the boating and water sports you go for. Remember how peaceful you fell whenever you’re near the calm shores of a river? And how can you miss the various faces of the sky? When dense black clouds thunder with lightening, don’t they propel poet’s imagination to posit their beauty and capture them in words you are fond of reading. The peacock dancing in its glory. A lovely scene which every one wants to capture. The nature stores secret treasures for every weather and I think we must not miss it.”

Maybe… it wasn’t so bad

By the time, he finished explaining his logic to me, my coffee was also over, and I had already started to like the cold there. It was like a shift for me. For now, the same layers and the numb nose were bringing a pleasant warmth within me. I looked around me- the white cover had receded a little and I could see the grace with which the trees stood enjoy the cold. They didn’t shine like they did in the sun but they had a dark lustre that reflected a different shade.

“Okay. Okay. I agree with you.” I said, smiling at him, only to see that he was smiling too.

Today, it has been some 15 years to that day. I lost all touch with Deep and I have no clue where he is. But every time I walk in the cold or am drenched in a sudden shower or am sweating in the burning sun, I think of him. He made me see the beauty of every season. And he made me believe that Mother Earth showcases them one after the other, all we need to do is enjoy it. All we need to do is relish the vivid shades each season displays with their grandeur and shine.

Picture credits: Pexels

Comments