Summer Season
Indian is indeed a continent. The season is not the same throughout the year. When it is hottest in the plains, Simla, Mussorie and Darjeeling are quite cool; when there is winter is the west coast of India, heavy rainfall on the coast of Coromandel. I shall describe here the summer season in plains.
Extreme Heat
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The Indian summer is the hottest in the whole year. It is very uncomfortable. The rays of sun fall perpendicular. Hence it is difficult to sit or walk in those days. At mid day one does not like to go out of doors. The heat is intense and the light blinding. During these days we can walk a little in the morning. The rich people have Punkhas and cooler to cool the air of their rooms.
Generally the greater part of the day is wasted. Sometimes the atmosphere gets so heated that you feel your mouth and nostrils parched under the cool shade. Extreme thirst is felt by all. One does nothing else but drinks water the whole day through.
School and College are Closed
School and college hours are changed during summer. They are closed all through the summer; and even so late as the middle of July. All the educational offices work only in the before noon. All government offices are covered with Khus-Khus on all sides. Chicks and screens are used in every house. They are kept wet during the day.
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Scarcity of water
All rives except those that take their rise in the snowy peaks of the Himalayas are almost dry. There is scarcity of water everywhere. The water in the wells sinks low. The water in the ponds dries up. Cattle find the grazing grounds dry. The grass becomes insufficient. Cattle quench their bringing thirst with muddy water of the ponds.
Condition of beast and birds
During summer beats pant for breath. They seek shade and sit leisurely under the trees. They are unwilling to wander in the sun. Even then the birds hide themselves in branches of tress or in the holes of the walls. Ponds and tanks dry up. The sky appears cooper red. The earth under the feet is hardened. It is so hot that one cannot walk bare footed on it.
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Dress in summer
People were very light clothes. The dress of people depends upon the climate of the country. It is really very strange to see that Indians are giving up their light and comfortable dress dhoti and kurta.
Fruits in summer
Summer is the season of the best fruit in India. Mangoes, water-melons and all varieties of delicious fruits come in the market in summer. It seems as though God creates these fruits to quench our thirst during this season.
Morning the most pleasant time
The early morning is most pleasant in summer. It is quite different from the terrible heat of the day. It is only in the morning that the cool breeze blows. The lovely birds sing their sweet songs.
The days are long. The heat continues till the afternoon. Even the sunset does not put an end to the hot winds. It is eight O’clock at night that there is a little coolness. People generally sleep in the open air.
Concussion
The English poets sing the joys of summer. But we have no such joys. Our pleasures belong to the spring season only.