Hi There Old Town :)

Kolkata, Summer 2013:

Stepping into your country always brings about a flood of unexplained emotions. I'd like to think of a song to describe it all but at the moment I really can't find any, so let me just go with the flow.

I actually expected to be greeted by the hot scorching rays of the sun, but I had a pleasant surprise in store for me. While the other parts of the country melted under the heat, my little suburban home dissolved in the waters of cool summer rain. And it's amazing how the smell of softened mud seeping into the air makes you feel at home in this land which always welcomes Monsoons with heartwarming gratitude.

As I sit near the window of my old country house, I can actually smell the tranquil river breeze. It drifts in from the Ganges, that twirls along gracefully not very far away from my home. The sky is blue yet smudged with patches of dull grey which make it seem all the more natural for an Indian sky. The pigeons line up on the crisscrossing telephone wires. Somewhere down the road behind my house, I hear the sound of the train as it speeds past the little suburbs and the river and heads for the country.

Evenings here are always beautiful. Whether you sit on the terrace walls watching the mellow sunset or catch a ride to the "Ghat", a term coined for the steps leading into the river. I have been down there many times and when I was young I used to wonder where the launches disappeared to after they left the river bank. As the sun dips below the horizon, the boats turn into twinkling stars on the dark waters that rush to the south with unimaginably strong current. If you look properly, you can notice the dusky outlines of buildings and temples that comprise the opposite bank, and sometimes (if you're lucky) they are lit up magnificently.

Soon enough, all those silent bungalows down the lane fill up with limitless glow and the cheerful chatter of reunited families reaches your ear. Life here is very similar to Austen's novels. So accomplished are the women in music that it unnerves the occasional traveler to hear the fleeting notes from the keyboard or the shimmering tunes of the sitar floating out from the windows. There's always a general excitement with the arrival of guests from the city and girls flock to the balconies to watch them alight. If only they were to come on horse carriages and not fancy cars!

If Austen described the gentry who lived in the country with so much elegance, she had a good reason to do so.

So do I, as I watch the women who exit their affluent homes and proceed to the glittering bazaars. They are often dressed in bright colors, something I never really get to see in Singapore. There's a chorus of laughter in the air and you could be sure that they were heading down to watch one of Tagore's many plays that was being staged in the community hall. Bengalis definitely love their art and literature.  

Summer time, though a horrid mess of humidity and heatwaves, is much peaceful for the suburbs. I could spend the next 100 days of my life reading, or painting or doing just about anything I ever wanted to.
There's a slight problem though.

I always have the tendency to sit and plan out every move in life. However, I'm going to walk through this summer vacation with absolute ease. No plans, no expectations and most of all, no commitments. It takes a certain amount of resolve to accept whatever Life gives without complaining, and that includes the fair share of excitement and fun which comes along with summer.

Here's to a wonderful summer full of unexpected joys and thrilling adventures!