JOIN USThe little tyke's final exam timetable arrived yesterday and the first thing we started to plan was, no, not the study schedule but our summer holiday, of course! Well, what do you expect? Two whole months of scorching bright sun and nothing to do (at least, zero motivation for anything except fun)! Mangoes and beaches, siestas and summery dresses, lime soaps and talcum powder - this is one season to look forward to.
Here's the time when you don't have to explain why you are just spread across your bed, or rather on the floor, and why you are staring into nothingness. Just blame it on summer, and make the most of it!
What a beauty
Summers just smell, well, 'summery'. Nature is at its most beautiful during this season. Almost every tree is in bloom with lovely scented flowers. It's just the time when we are reminded of poetry and art, as a splash of colour adorns every street you pass through. Doesn't that seem wonderfully inspiring! It certainly inspired Robert Louis Stevenson to pen the Summer Sun:
Above the hills, along the blue,
Round the bright air with footing true,
To please the child, to paint the rose,
The gardener of the World, he goes.
Welcome the king
As kids, I remember, we used to actually have a game about spotting the first mango of the season. My brother and I would vie to win the game every summer, but mom would win it hands down. Even when there were limited resources in the house, a huge crate of the pulpy juicy stuff would make its way to our home the moment it would hit the market. And then would begin a treat of aamras and milkshakes, and of course, aam panna. How many happy afternoons were spent sucking the pulp out of the top of an Alphonso after squeezing it all over! Summer just smells of mangoes, doesn't it? Do you have a favourite mango memory?
Gimme a break
Ah! The summer vacation is the most important thing to do. Summers are meant for going on trips - hills, beaches, holy places, other noisy cities, and certainly the gaon, the native place! My childhood vacation was about spending quiet evenings by the Godavari river at Panchavati in Nashik, a town close to Mumbai, that came closest to be my native place. Every summer, we would head to this quaint dharamshala, and sip tea and have poha to go with it. We would visit the same touristy spots every single year and yet never ever get bored.
However, we have started exploring other, diverse, more Instagrammable options now. Take your pick from local weekend getaways, exotic domestic destinations, and the ultimate holiday destinations - anywhere abroad! No one is exempt from this travel bug. So if you've waited all along for the summer to arrive and then crib about it being hot and hitting either the mountains or the water at a seafront, you can add a 'me too' there.
Aqua baby
Think summer and lovely long showers and of endless fun at beaches come to the mind. I think of swimsuits and waterparks! It's just the time to enjoy hours and hours of staying in the water splashing down water slides, dancing in the rain showers and squirting water on everyone, catching a cold be damned. Even if you're not the overly adventurous sort, just think of the fabulous time to be had swimming in the pool or lazing around on a float.
Summer coolants
Come summer vacation, and we would be helping mom with either pulping the mangoes or cutting the large watermelons that she would buy. We would spend an hour deseeding the humongous fruit and later leave the seeds out to dry on the balcony. Mom enjoyed eating the white seeds once we cracked the outer blackish-brown covers with our fingernails. Part of the watermelon would be hogged by the three of us, while the rest would be blended into watermelon juice, which is what papa liked! Unfailingly, every year my brother would eat up several watermelon seeds with the outer cover and we would tease him about growing a watermelon 'tree' in his tummy. What's your summer coolant? Mint lemon juice or buttermilk or lassi, or the roadside kalakhatta!
Doesn't the season always bring back nostalgic moments as these?
Ice creams, kulfis & golas
If the sun begins to get to you, the season offers several ways to cool off. Bite into a softy ice cream or a milky kulfi or an icy gola. It's the best way to fight off the heat and get a treat for the taste buds as
well. Slurp on and enjoy the season while it lasts.
Bookworms unite
When was the last time you had an uninterrupted read? Bulk up on your books when you're off on a summer vacation or load that kindle. Switch on the AC and curl up with your favourite characters. Let some fresh coconut water keep you company. No schedule to follow after all; who's going to point fingers at these 'wasted' hours! I love to return to my PG Wodehouse and transport myself to English summers. What's your idea of a summer read?
Hail Netflix!
Screen bingeing is good. Or rather, it is excused only when a summer calls for it. Drool over your favourites and watch new movies and shows. Then the rest of the summer can be spent discussing the same. That's some amazingly productive use of your time. No questions asked. Let me think when was the last time I watched Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes?
Energetic mornings
Have you seen how perked up everyone is in the morning during the summer? Cycling and morning walk seem to be all the rage. Gyms seem to be running full as though there is a great summer discount on. The truth is that losing weight during the summer is easier compared to any other time of the year. So who's complaining? Jump on to the weight-loss bandwagon and make your mornings healthier.
Family meet-ups
Joint or disjointed, warring or in a truce, families of all shapes and sizes come together for annual meet-ups during summer. What better way to catch up on what your aunt's mother-in-law's second son's son who migrated to Florida is doing nowadays? You know the gist - conversations, gossip, laughter, arguments and more! How it all ends is a different story altogether, but it makes for amazing memories, and, even better, great Facebook updates.
Wardrobe overhaul
Of course, it's just the time. You will be losing the inches with your summer exercise routine. Layers of clothing need to be replaced by shorts, and skirts and dresses and cotton trousers and sleeveless tops and shirts. Colours need to be in sync with the season. So let's get into wardrobe reinvention mode! Summers are perfect for
going on a shopping spree. And while you are at it, get some flip-flops and beachwear as well!
If you're sitting under the fan right now, sweating under the collar, itching to switch on the AC, and muttering under your breath about the blasted summer, stay calm. All this brouhaha about the bright season (try not to read sultry and sweaty) is our attempt to make the Indian summer a bit more bearable.
Rally on, everyone! Deo in hand and kulfi on call, forward march!