Sunday, April 20, 2014

An April shower and hail stones


Always trust your gut instinct. Turns out, I was right the first time around, when on hearing the unnatural sound of rain drops(not the usual pitter-patter), I rushed out leaving my diary closed (after I finished the last page) to see the hail stones, but returned disappointed. 

Later on, I told Mama of my experience. She said she was sleeping, but when she heard the sound, she looked around wildly for hail stones. And I said ,"How could you be sure they were hail stones because construction work is going on, and there are things on which the water from the rain might  fall and cause a sound ?" She then added that she heard on yesterday's news that today with the kalbaisakhi showers hail stones were expected.  Aha, so while writing the diary I wasn't wrong. Off the tangent, I don’t know why I call it a diary when it’s actually a journal. Force of habit, I guess.

 “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” I whined. I could have looked for them better. After all, when we are looking for something, we usually find it. Again, we heard a sound similar to the one we had both heard when the rains started. Without further ado, both of us ran (not literally). I rushed to my bedroom window and craned out my neck. My mother was smart, she ran to the grill on the back door which will give her a better view. 
 
Ah, what a sight it was. Hail stones, shiny round ice pebbles, pelting the ground. It was surreal. I had half a mind to go with an umbrella and somehow experience it (with a bodily injury?) or capture it for posterity with my feeble phone camera. But I decided to just watch from the house, from different locations. The hail stone shower brought back childhood memories, when I and my sister used to run into the rain and collect them or picked up those which had come indoors, just so that we could hold and feel them, and see them before it melted. So thrilling. Simple pleasures and small mercies.

The world washed anew.
 



 The bela tree in front of my window looks reborn, with the young green leaves looking more tender(if that’s possible), and the water drops clinging to the thorns look as menacing as ever. 




 The backyard is littered with shed leaves of bela tree and tagara plant and, also tagara flowers which were dislodged in the rain due to the wind that blew with a gale force. 



There is no power. People have opened their doors and windows to let in the cool breeze after a sweltering smouldering hot week. It had rained last Sunday too. A weekly shower by the rain gods to save us from the heat, is it? Something is better than nothing, I say. 

The light outside is wonderful. A cool breeze is playing. But I don't hear the children playing. The streets are wet and the grounds are slippery. Unseasonal rain, perhaps the parents have told them to stay indoors so that they don't catch a cold or slip and fall. After all, back to school for them tomorrow .
  
When the rain stopped I walked around outside and a took a few pictures even though drops of water were dripping from the house and the trees. I shielded my phone as best as I could so that it outlasts its life. It’s days are numbered but I’m reluctant to part, as always.

Natural sepia light outside. There are dark clouds in the sky. More rain to come. The constant low rumble of thunder.The sun must be setting, the changing light says so. It's beautiful. Green leaves on the swaying branches against dark clouds.I was lucky to see a few lightning flashes in between. 




 This was a long weekend for most ,with the holiday to vote (which was wasted on the kids but they were delighted nevertheless), then Good Friday and the weekend. Hope you all made the best (use) of it.


Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Zoologists' day out : the final curtain

The day after the last day. The pictures taken in our lovely campus while walking to the hostel after an exciting day out in the sun with friends and animals. I wonder if  it is the end of a beginning or the beginning of an end?