It is that time of the year again when I go on a ramble – not that I don’t at other times, I do though intermittently, February being when I do it in earnest all month long, come hail or sunshine. Well, there is no chance much of the former disrupting life (or blogging) and of the latter we seem to have plenty, though not yet at a damaging level. That’s how February rolls. Plenty of sunshine, blue skies – or not because on some days we have lots of haze and the sky remains a dull grey-white – dried leaves and dust, lots of it everywhere.

As months go, you can’t say I love February all that much. It is the month when we know for sure that summer is at our doorstep, not officially perhaps, but it definitely has sneaked in unofficially, knocking on doors and running away to hide, to keep its arrival a secret. As if! People open the door and find no one waiting outside. Smart that they are, they nod their head philosophically and say, “Ahh, it’s that fellow whatshisname up to his old tricks. Has arrived early on and with nothing better to do wants to rile us.” They close the door and go back to whatever they have been doing, not forgetting to hike the speed of the ceiling fan as they return to their work.

Looking at the bare trees, some with minimal leaves covered with dust, I feel dispirited. This is only the beginning, the heat will only rise from now on. Not something that is going to endear February any more to me as I get less and less sleep as I toss and turn. I don’t like you, February, I tell myself silently. And yet, and yet…. a voice whispers, there is lot to love about February too. Yes, I know, Valentine’s Day falls in February. But that’s not it. In February, I gave birth to my First Born. In mid-February falls the birthday of a nephew. What’s more, today, the first of the month, is a friend’s birthday.

So yeah, it’s a warm month, but with certain cool spots in it. I am hoping those cool spots will be augmented by the rain gods. We have a saying that goes ‘Kumbhathil mazha peythaal, kuppayilum ponnu’. In essence it means that if it rains in the month of Kumbha (from mid-February to mid-March), you’ll find gold even in waste. I am not looking for the gold, metaphorical though it is, but for the showers that’s supposed to make the ‘gold’ happen. Keeping my fingers crossed. 🙂

© Shail Mohan 2019