Summer is Here…

 
April and May are two of the hottest months in Hyderabad. There is no escape and rarely any respite. Over the last few days, even the morning cool breeze that lasted till around 9 A.M, is now becoming warm by 7:30 A.M. But then, I am not here to crib about Hyd weather. 

Folks, one reason for which I am particularly proud to be from Andhra Pradesh is because of the awesome, delicious and simply heavenly Mangoes that this state can produce. With the onset of the hot summer, come the welcoming Mangoes. Bangenpalli (cut mango), Rasalu (pulpy mango, hard to describe, but heavenly to eat) just fill the market yeards. If there was one reason to be back in Andhra in the summer, then it has to be Mango. I hate being away from India, especially in summer, only because of the mangoes. I have eaten the other Indian varieties like the Alphonso, but they are undoubtedly poor cousins. There is no comparision and simply no match.

We got the first batch of the cut mangoes yesterday and they were ultra-yummmmy. Go get your own. Currently, a kilo is proced at Rs.50, one might have to bargain a bit to get the fruit vendor to that cost. 

So, it is once again time for the yummy season of curd-rice and mango to begin!

YumJoy!

Bamboo

Our latest and proudest addition to our home – Bamboo

 

Our Bamboo Plant

Go Green!

 

PS: I know, it is competing with the Leaning Tower of Pisa – but we still love it!

A Refreshing Twist

It is a common practice to talk about weather when two people have nothing to say. But this time, it is different when I mention weather. Hyderabad in the months from March to June can be quite unbearable. The summer is at its peak especially in April and mainly May. Stepping out in the afternoons is simply unthinkable.

Hence, it is a refreshing twist that the weather in April, should suddenly turn to that of a hill station. Cloudy, drizzle here and there, sometimes heavy rain accompanied by thunder storms, in one word the weather currently in Hyd is – Heavenly.

One of my closest friends – Suri (as I fondly call him) or Spaceman Spiff is getting married today and I wish him and J, all the luck and best wishes for a lovely life ahead. I suppose the rain Gods are wishing him too and that could just be the reason for this refreshing change. 

White world!

Weather is one of the most common topics that two strangers or people who have very less in common sought to. Well, all said and done one can always comment upon it. When Dad asks one to contact a distant cousin or family or friend, it is the easiest and more or less unwritten and yet customary to pry on general topics, weather being the favourite.

I did mention in one of my previous posts about how one remains forever obsessed with knowing what is in store and how is weather going to over the weekend, the next one week and so on and so forth. Mind you this only happens when we are out of India or broadly speaking – the tropics. Having lived in the tropics for all these years of my breathing life, I found the transition to these harsh climes of North America pretty welcoming. I was pretty geared for the fall and the winter that followed. This was the first time I would ever see snow and the prospect of it can excite anyone. It is now the end of February, the temperatures have been around 20-30F during daytime. Another snow fall today, just sent me to my wits end. The lack of Sunshine for days together depresses me.

 

There were times when I prayed to the Sun God to show some respite. 40C temperatures and dry heat was taxing, but now even to see the sun it takes many days. There is some sense of gloom associated with drowsiness and lethargy. Googled to find out that these kind of things are common in this season. Winter blues or in some advanced case termed as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Winter Depression. There are some interesting things listed to fight them. Check out the sites below to know more about the scientific aspects of it and way to fight the blues.

SAD: http://www.ncpamd.com/seasonal.htm

Winter Blues : http://thyroid.about.com/od/relatedconditions1/a/winterblues.htm

The optimist in me nudges to look at the advantages to all this. Well, if one is married, winters can be interesting and cozy . I went for skiing and enjoyed it immensely. It sure is a great exercise; also, an undivided amount of time to read books and catch up watching fav movies. It is a time to cook some garam-garam samosas and many such.

The powdery snow has its own beauty and to make a snow-man with it is always nice. All in all, however depressing and constrained one may feel at times, the sublime purity of being engulfed in pure white is yet another God’s divine creations worth the experience.

It’s a white world out there, enjoy it.

 

 

Simple things that matter

Coming back from a hectic day at work, I can either curse that my building so far from the gate else I have the choice of admiring the brilliance of the setting sun. Playing a hide and seek with the clouds it casts it golden aura on the evening sky. At this time of the year, the shades of orange are really superb. One can stay transfixed with the changes that occur by the minute. Every minute presents a different hue, that no possible palette can capture.

This makes me realise that the best things in life that can make me happy are least expensive. A rose garden, an innocent smile of a child..these are the things that make me happy and keep me happy too. An expensive pair of sunglasses gives me the momentary happiness, but entails with it the burden of extreme care. It leaves me with no peace of mind untill it is safely put back in its case. How can I possibly derive my happiness out of such trappings?