Summer is here again. Early morning brightness, peeping through my bedroom windows, is indicative of the onset of Summer.Only a few days back, it was pitch dark with no sign of life even at six in the morning. Little birdies huddled together in their nest and the love making pigeons , housed in the A/C cover of my windowsill quietly folding themselves in their own feathers , are now actively fluttering their wings and engrossed in wooing their lady love who responds with equal vigour.The balcony in front of my bedroom is suddenly alive.Twittering of birds and squirrels running up and down the nascent green grape vines,which appeared to be deadwood some days back , are making themselves merry.
Well this is the early entry of Summer which is welcome after the dull and gloomy Winter. Soon, very soon, this pleasant experience will become a memory.Summers in Delhi are unbearable. Temperature is slowly and steadily rising and days are not far off when the Mercury will peak at 45 'centigrade and beyond. Sample a day in the peak of Summer. It is six 'o clock in the morning and the sun shines in its full glory.It feels like midday. Sweating and perspiring you find that the electric current has gone off.Quite often in the middle of the night the current goes off and the A/C ,which offered some relief, too gives up. Somehow the poor inverter, which bore the brunt the whole night, refuses to move further.This is the scene in the morning. As the day progresses,the scene becomes more and more gloomy. Throats are parched and gallons of water gulped down in the stomach hardly give any succour.You feel lethargic and listless.One does not want to step out from the air conditioned room. But you have responsibilities... you have to go out for work. A long dreary day is ahead.Evenings are no better. Loads of cool drinks have been pushed inside the body. Even the fridge appears to be affected by the scorching heat.There is no ice formation. The fridge is also exhausted.Too hot...tooo hot tooo ho and you are over taken by sleepiness .The cool breeze emanating from the A/C slowly relaxes your whole being. Modern gadgets have made life much easier.Air conditioned houses, air conditioned cars and air conditioned work place have made summers enjoyable.
I am transported sixty years back.Reverse gear has been applied. I can sense the summer days of the fifties in Delhi.The gadgets which have made summer months easier and tolerable did not exist even in dreams.How did they get rid of those hot hot days? People slept in the open, under the sky!! I remember that the area was very well washed with several buckets of water to remove the effect of burning heat from the cemented floor. Driving away the mosquitoes was a problem which was solved by using mosquito nets.Picture a family of eight to ten members! Equal number of charpoys were spread with a net in each bed!!They looked like tents for vagabonds!! With no fridge, drinking water was stored in Surahis and Matkas made of clay.Even ceiling fans were rare.Table fans were in use.If you had a revolving table fan , well, it was termed as a luxury.In offices and in well to do homes Khas-Tatties were used .These Khas-Tatties performed the role of an air conditioner. The Khas-Tatties were made of twigs woven like a curtain and hung outside a door or window of a room.Every hour it was sprinkled with water to provide relief to the in-mates.I remember that in our house we had a fridge which worked on kerosene oil! A small container of oil had a wick of cotton, which was lit and changed every evening.This flame was a substitute for electricity!! How people devised such innovations to bring comfort in their lives!
All this I remember vividly. We don't know how our forefathers lived and suffered the travails of weather and nature. !! How life was difficult for them!! how they struggled.How they thought of various methods to make life comfortable.It is their struggle which brought comfort in our lives.We must think of them with gratitude! A small 'thank you' for our fore fathers will bring solace to their souls. Let us also teach this lesson to our children!!
Well this is the early entry of Summer which is welcome after the dull and gloomy Winter. Soon, very soon, this pleasant experience will become a memory.Summers in Delhi are unbearable. Temperature is slowly and steadily rising and days are not far off when the Mercury will peak at 45 'centigrade and beyond. Sample a day in the peak of Summer. It is six 'o clock in the morning and the sun shines in its full glory.It feels like midday. Sweating and perspiring you find that the electric current has gone off.Quite often in the middle of the night the current goes off and the A/C ,which offered some relief, too gives up. Somehow the poor inverter, which bore the brunt the whole night, refuses to move further.This is the scene in the morning. As the day progresses,the scene becomes more and more gloomy. Throats are parched and gallons of water gulped down in the stomach hardly give any succour.You feel lethargic and listless.One does not want to step out from the air conditioned room. But you have responsibilities... you have to go out for work. A long dreary day is ahead.Evenings are no better. Loads of cool drinks have been pushed inside the body. Even the fridge appears to be affected by the scorching heat.There is no ice formation. The fridge is also exhausted.Too hot...tooo hot tooo ho and you are over taken by sleepiness .The cool breeze emanating from the A/C slowly relaxes your whole being. Modern gadgets have made life much easier.Air conditioned houses, air conditioned cars and air conditioned work place have made summers enjoyable.
I am transported sixty years back.Reverse gear has been applied. I can sense the summer days of the fifties in Delhi.The gadgets which have made summer months easier and tolerable did not exist even in dreams.How did they get rid of those hot hot days? People slept in the open, under the sky!! I remember that the area was very well washed with several buckets of water to remove the effect of burning heat from the cemented floor. Driving away the mosquitoes was a problem which was solved by using mosquito nets.Picture a family of eight to ten members! Equal number of charpoys were spread with a net in each bed!!They looked like tents for vagabonds!! With no fridge, drinking water was stored in Surahis and Matkas made of clay.Even ceiling fans were rare.Table fans were in use.If you had a revolving table fan , well, it was termed as a luxury.In offices and in well to do homes Khas-Tatties were used .These Khas-Tatties performed the role of an air conditioner. The Khas-Tatties were made of twigs woven like a curtain and hung outside a door or window of a room.Every hour it was sprinkled with water to provide relief to the in-mates.I remember that in our house we had a fridge which worked on kerosene oil! A small container of oil had a wick of cotton, which was lit and changed every evening.This flame was a substitute for electricity!! How people devised such innovations to bring comfort in their lives!
All this I remember vividly. We don't know how our forefathers lived and suffered the travails of weather and nature. !! How life was difficult for them!! how they struggled.How they thought of various methods to make life comfortable.It is their struggle which brought comfort in our lives.We must think of them with gratitude! A small 'thank you' for our fore fathers will bring solace to their souls. Let us also teach this lesson to our children!!
I would love to sleep on the terrace and look at the stars if only Bala Mama would let me.
ReplyDeleteMaybe after my Italian exam?
I also remember watching the fireworks marking the 150th anniversary of the War of Independence from the terrace in the summer of 2007.