Under the burning sun entire Delhi was boiling.
Though the fan was at its peak we were sweating like anything. The hot air from
the fan which was running round the clock was unable to dry the beads of sweat wetting
our bodies and soothe our nerves, the summer in Delhi was literally roasting us
alive. To escape from the extreme heat we came out of the flat and watched the
streets melting under the blazing sun, standing in the balcony. Anup and Priya
both of them in Delhi since a year are enduring extreme heat gripping the city.
Both of them were heard cursing the sun for not showing an iota of mercy over
the Delhites for whom a rain is a rare guest and rare gift, which could help in
bringing down the mercury level at least for a short span. I could very well fathom
the depth of their agony and irritation though only one week had passed by since
I became their guest that too for a short span. In all the letters which Anup
sent me he wrote about the unbearable heat tormenting the citizens in Delhi.
Delhi is a city of extremes, he wrote with the winter and summer playing their
roles to which an average Delhite has got accustomed with. Even before Anup
writing to me about the two extremes called Delhi I had read and heard about it
from those who were to Delhi and spent years there including my friends and
relatives. I was comparing Delhi and Kerala and was feeling proud about my
State where the two extremes are unknown to all. Simultaneously, I forgot not
to ponder over the climate cycle turning upset with the large-scale ecological
plunder which is spreading fast across the once lush verdant State well-known
for its magnificent landscape with its splashing lakes, fast flowing rivers,
ponds and long lines of coconut trees spreading along the length and breadth of
the State.
But such a magnificent verdant State is gradually
evolving into a concrete jungle in the near future itself, thanks to the
real-estate boom, like Delhi which is virtually a concrete jungle. With the
deforestation and destruction of bio-diversity, the flora and fauna the day is
not far off the once lush green State is about to witness the climate cycle
turning upside down.
Three of us while enduring the extreme heat were
talking with a sort of nostalgia about the once nature-blessed State. In the
meantime we happened to notice the sky gradually turning dark and cloudy and we
began enjoying cold winds caressing us. Dark clouds filling the sky our city
presented us with intuitions of an approaching rain after a long gap. We
watched the residents of Mayur Vihar coming out into the balcony with pleasant
faces expecting the rains to bless the city turning dark during daytime were in
a mood to dance like the peacocks spreading their wings and immersing in dancing.
It was a heartening sight to watch them rejoicing even before rain was about to
pour. I noticed the frowning Anup and Priya beaming smiles facing each other.
For them a long-awaited dream was about to materialize within minutes or even
seconds.
With the first drops of rain falling, the Delhites
were seen coming out into the street sides with the extreme desire of dancing
in the heavy downpour.
All of a sudden the entire atmosphere underwent a
sea-change with the powerful shower of rain bathing the entire Mayur Vihar
area. Within minutes the streets were brimming with water and people cooly
enjoying the shower for free. We too felt like coming out of the flat into the
open to enjoy a free shower-bath. Except Priya, both Anup and myself came out
into the open and enjoyed the shower-bath to our hearts content. Priya standing
in the balcony with immense joy and pleasure was watching us dancing in the
rain. We saw vehicles ‘swimming’ along slowly through the ‘waist-deep’ water.
It was a day of delight and celebration for the entire Delhites. A typical
Delhite is like a hornbill waiting anxiously with its beak kept open for the
approach of the rare guest – the rain, especially in summer season.
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