For
last week or so, my home town Pune is getting hammered by sharp
spells of rain towards evening, just like it happens all over
Southeast Asia. The weather remains hot and humid throughout day and
towards late afternoon or early evening, a huge black mass of clouds
suddenly makes an entry from nowhere on the horizon. Within next few
minutes, it becomes dark and raindrops come down pulverizing
everything.
We
call these sharp rain spells coming at the fag end of the Monsoon
season, as 'September Rains.' Traditional Hindu calender has always
linked seasons with the constellations, correctly or incorrectly and
this rain fall is usually linked with the constellation 'Corvus,'
which is called as “Hasta” in India. The Corvus rain by tradition
is known to fall and make an impact on earth, similar to an
elephant's step. When this rain starts, world around you goes
standstill, everyone scrambling for shelter. You would not hear even
a bird chirping with only sound coming from the rain's massive
footfall.
Yet,
this rain always reminds me that the Monsoon season, with its wet
days, which bring in certain gloom in the minds of everyone, is soon
going to be over and within a fortnight or slightly longer, one of
the best season from the year, is to begin. The days of hot and
horrid weather of the subcontinent would soon be replaced with more
pleasant and balmy days of autumn with afternoons still warm but
nights clear and cool.
The
first festival that comes, is known in India as “Vijayadashami,”
which means 10th day of the first fortnight of the month, with any
endeavour taken up on this day, would always bring in success.
However, what I always look forward to, is not this festival but the
full Moon night that follows. This is a special night with the Moon
at its brightest. Traditionally, people get together in the open,
where they can enjoy the fabulous moonlight shining brightly without
burning you. It is a great fun to spend time with friends or family,
chatting and enjoying some spicy snacks like Bombay Mixture and drink
sweetened hot milk.Lord Krishna's name is also connected with this outdoors gathering on Autumn full moon day known in India as "Sharad Poornima."
During
my youth, I would spend early hours of this night with friends
usually on a moon lit terrace , lying down on carpets and chatting.
Later, the friends got scattered, and I started spending the nights
with family and relatives, still maintaining the essential joys. We
would chat, read stories written by us, the ones with singing talent,
would sing, but everyone would present something to the group, with
the result that it would be great fun.
Unfortunately,
with India's crowded cities today, even this simple joy is becoming
hard to get. With the bright city lights, one would need to search
for the moon, leave aside enjoying the moonlight. Even if someone has
a terrace, it is no longer a pleasure to sit down in the polluted
urban atmosphere with high vehicular noise and discordant din.
Sometime
back, while I was staying in Singapore, I found out that the Chinese
too celebrate this mid autumn full moon night. They hang highly
decorated lanterns with candles everywhere, just as we Indians do it
slightly later, in the Deepavali festival, which is a festival of
lights. Perhaps weather in China may be bit colder then to move out
in the night. It is just amazing to see the similarities between Chinese and Indian traditions and customs.
I feel
sometimes sad, that we can not enjoy now even the simple joys of
yesteryear. No five star air conditioned comfort can match the
scintillating effect of the moonlight. But that is the price we pay
for progress!
14
September 2013
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