It's in the Skies

How can a simple thing like the weather....something over which we have no control...have so much control over us? It governs our attire, our plans, our eating habits, and...most importantly, our mood.

I really wonder how...last year I had the misfortune to be on a really crowded Kolkata bus in June. It was office rush hour (isn't it always!) and I was in for a long ride at the end of an interesting day. It was amusing (when I wasn't wiping the sweat off my face) to watch how cranky the chip-chip weather was making everyone. An unintentional nudge, mistakenly treading on another's foot, standing too close to a hostile neighbour, all of these invited rebuke, scathing criticism, much sarcasm and contempt for the offender. In their eagerness to pass on the good deed, the rebuked went on to rebuke, and so the unhappy chain continued its way along the bus, as the bus itself trundled along through crowded streets, skirted election rallies, and took us all to our homes.

But this morning...I love everyone...it is beautiful weather. I'm in Delhi, the entire city's had a bath, the soot has disappeared, the plants on the road dividers are green again instead of a dusty musty brown, and everyone looks, well, happy. It's contagious. You get greeted with one "isn't it amazing weather?" and it just makes you smile. Our office entrance is littered with colourful umbrellas left out to dry. The dogs near my office look alive again. So I stepped in a puddle..so what!

I don't believe in astrology..the stars do nothing for us. But the skies...bless them!