Tome And Plume: Bhopal Summer; Aching Days Melt Into Soothing Evenings
· Free Press Journal
Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): O Thou who passest thro’ our vallies in Thy strength, curb thy fierce steeds, allay the heat That flames from their large nostrils! thou, O Summer– To Summer, William Blake
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The residents in the City of Lakes are experiencing a fierce summer this year with a maximum temperature of 44 degrees Celsius, but the evenings are calmer. There are some places in the city where a rolling stone can enjoy the rhapsody of a summer evening.
As the morning breaks, the strollers experience a cool breeze, but the sun slowly becomes warm and serious, melting the asphalt thoroughfares in the city. Dry and hot westerlies continue to burn the earth until the late evening.
At midday, being inside or outside homes hardly makes any difference, as after 12 o’clock, living indoors without an air conditioner or a cooler is like staying out.
After 2 pm, many roads wear a deserted look, partly due to the heatwave and partly due to the high fuel prices. A Bhopali does not lose his sense of humour even in such hard times. The other day, a man, standing in a queue at a petrol pump, said fierce summer heat added fire to the fuel prices.
Many residents, however, wake up at dawn and leave for Van Vihar to have a stroll in the gentle morning breeze. This time, the place reverberates with trilling. Many of them also enjoy boating in the Upper Lake to forget the painful noon.
Those who are in offices have some respite from the heat at noon because of air conditioners. Provided, electricity does not betray them.
A group of people also stroll on the banks of the Lower Lake in the morning. Hundreds of cormorants, expert swimmers, take away the baits thrown into the water by the anglers to catch fish. A walker can delight in the sight, adding a nice tang to his dull daily chores.
These clever birds dupe the anglers of the baits and also fly away with fish from the water. They respond to the stones hurled at them by the fish catchers with a mild croak, as if they were mocking human civilisation.
Because of the summer, the sale of green coconuts, buttermilk, lassi, curd, mango juice, and juicy fruits, like watermelons, mangoes, and muskmelons, has shot up. The residents consume them to combat heat.
The condition in rural areas is pathetic, however. Many far-flung areas lack drinking water. Natural water sources and tubewells dry up in May. The villagers, especially women, set out of their homes at daybreak to fetch a pail of water.
In some places, the water shortage starts from the first week of March and continues until the end of June, when the monsoon covers the state. But a failed monsoon plays havoc with the people in rural areas.
The residents of the state capital have some advantages. They experience water shortage but overcome it because of the supply system.
Still, if people want to enjoy breezier and cooler summer afternoons, they can visit Manua Bhan Ki Tekri. A sunset at Shahpura Lake before nightfall in the summer is also delightful.
But if people really wish to enjoy a summer evening, there is hardly any place that can match Shair Sapata. A boat ride in the late-afternoon half-light, under a gentle breeze, is an unforgettable experience. The views around the place will leave a boat rider breathless.
Before his eyes, the sun-soaked day slowly glides out amid the chanting of birds, and the evening star begins to glimmer in the dusk. As the flickering landscape slowly fades away from the sight, the boat rider celebrates the solemn stillness, slowly seizing him, but the ferry touches the shore of the lake, and the boatman says the ride is over.
Arup Chakraborty
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