How did people around me know that the days were getting warmer? That summer was at the threshold, or that it had finally arrived? Easy-peasy. All they had to do was check the angle/height of my knot of hair. As the days got warmer, my knot of hair crept up from the nape of my neck to the top of my head.

Once, years back, the brother-in-law was found trying to suppress a smile. When I asked him the reason for his merriment, he said it was my hair knot. It was right on top of my head. This was in Hyderabad, at the peak of summer. To beat the heat, I had made a knot of my long hair right on top of my head. I laughed too and explained to him how the knot climbed up my head according to the rise in mercury.

Years later, I was out int he front yard of my house in my hometown when I espied my neighbor’s head above the wall separating our houses. Her eyes were twinkling, She was apparently amused and totally entertained by something. Quite oblivious to my own hairstyle, I asked her the reason for her mirth. ‘That knot of yours has really made it right to the top of your head!’ she said. ‘Just shows how warm the day really is, you know!’ I laughed.

Unfortunately, those days, when friends, family and neighbors could look at me, rather my head of hair, for weather reports, are now a thing of the past. My long hair has been replaced by a cut that’s really short to reveal anything at all about the outside temperature. But we have something else now that clearly tells us the days are indeed warmer. When Luci sleeps on her back with her legs in the air it is a sure sign that summer is lurking just around the corner. Right now, only two of her legs are up, indicating that though it is quite warm, it is not too warm as yet. When all four of her legs are up in the air, that;s when it is officially summer. 😉

© Shail Mohan 2020