Fury of the Sun in summer -Dr RAJ BAHADUR YADAV

Surya [Sun] is a solar deity who has been worshipped from ancient times in India. Even the famous "Gayatri Mantra" is dedicated to this most powerful planet in our solar system.In winter, everyone waits impatiently for it to rise in the east, with all its golden aura. It is football -size in the morning. We come out in open and bask under its benevolent sunshine.In his vast kingdom, the poor and the rich are absolute equals as the sun smiles with his brilliant yellow rays on the rooftop of an ordinary farmer's cottage as well on the sky-crapping palaces of kings, queens and the most prosperous people on the earth.William Shakespeare has very beautifully said," The self-same sun that shines on his court/ Hides not his visage from our cottage but looks on alike". In winter, everything[including the landscape and the plants] looks so enchanting and mesmerising under the impact of sunshine that we cannot describe them in words. But in summer,particularly in the months of May and June, people feel scared of this mighty god. For the last two days, I find the clouds of dust enveloping the ground in front of my eyes. They twist and turn in different directions--rendering the nearby landscape and the country hamlets hazy.When I try to spot the rain clouds in the sky, I  fail. But the spectacle of canals full of fresh and blue water inspires the birds,bovines and human beings to live an enjoy life. I have seen many truck-drivers.peasants and village youths taking off their shirts and jumping in to the life giving rivers and canals to take countless dips . The temperature near a river or canal is very often down by a few degrees celsius. The tea-stalls or hotels located on the sides of a canal do a brisk business. It is a common trait among villagers to pass most of their hot afternoons, sitting or sleeping under the thick shadows of peepal,shisham or banyan tree. They laugh and gossip for hours together in the lap of mother nature with cool breezes blowing from handsome water bodies.

                                                                                This year, there were fierce dust storms in North India in the first week of May. Hundreds of innocent men and women were killed and thousands of tree were uprooted. It was really a very tragic event in the life of our nation.There were frequent alerts issued by the Indian Meteorological  Department[IMD]about oncoming "toofans'[typhoons] and pre-monsoon showers. Every time, rain follows as a much awaited sequel to dust storm,  people heave a sigh of relief. The other day, the sun looked furious in the sky, blazing on tree-tops, roofs of houses and the entire brown,dry and parched land. Everything seemed to be too hot to touch. I saw on different TV channels the cars, trucks and motorcycles parked in open catching fire under the wrath of the mighty, "Surya deva." They seemed to be turning to cinders,surrounded by rising flames of fire on every side. It was certainly a startling experience to me.The leaves of trees appeared scorched. Even the ceiling fans seemed to be bringing in very hot air. I saw people helping themselves with sugarcane juice, "nimboo paani"[lemon drink] and ice-cream. The bus in which I was travelling seemed to be burning.When I went to bed at night, I couldn't sleep for a few hours as even the cooler and fan failed to beat the heat.But in the morning, I was quite happy to find a mild wind blowing and the green foliage of trees and plants shaking gently. They are quite soothing to my body,mind as well as heart. When a mild wind starts blowing, I feel like dwelling in perfect heaven.The maddening heat of the horrible afternoons is missing this time. When I came back home from morning walk, I could see dark clouds into the sky. Then, some soothing drops of rain also fell on the ground. I thanked God for this gentle turn in the weather.

   Fury of the Sun in summer         -Dr RAJ BAHADUR YADAV