The CORE.

In the last 6 months, I have seen every possible kind of precipitation. Rain, Sleet, Hail, Snow, Frost, Fog, Mist, Vapor and just wet, cold damp!

In the city where I come from, Hyderabad - an arid, dry part in the southern India, Rain, in it’s one form, is celebrated!

After the torrid summer characterised by temperatures soaring to 45 degree centigrade, hot winds blowing even through the dark nights, the pouring sweat that laminates your clothes bodies together, the urge to just lying flat on the floor under a whirring fan, when you are so drained of your salts that you are tired of wiping the sweat off your face because it just makes no difference, the wet towels that my mother would wrap around herself, that would dry up in just over 3 minutes, the silence on the roads.......

...after all this, when the first RAINS come, it’s more than a reason to celebrate. A good rain brings joy, music, celebration and even reverence (many gods are silently thanked). Schools get shut so that the kids can enjoy the first rains, meetings postponed, appointments not cared for, and trips cancelled. No one wants to miss the Rain, for if they do then they might miss it for a long time to come.

Shift scene. ..Glasgow, Scotland.

From the time I have landed here, my down- feather jacket has become second skin to me. Of course between the first and the second skins, are another four layers of  thermals, t-shirts, cardigans and jumpers. Despite this, at any give point of time, I have felt one layer short of comfort. People here have different kinds of clothing and footwear to brave different forms of..the same RAIN!

I have never seen so much rain, or so much water for that matter, in all my life. Well, so far at least! The much hated sun in Hyderabad, has become a thing of the past, and I hate myself for hating the sun then. Nonetheless, people here are as exited by the little hide and seek game of the sun as we would be, with the play of the rain back home. The same energies and excitement are shared by people here for the intermittent deliverance that sunshine brings them.

But again, when I see people here getting indoors and draw the curtains when it gets a little too bright or warm, I wonder why they do it? It is hardly warm yet!!

And then I realise.. that its meant to be this way! I may hate the sunshine and might have enjoyed RAIN, and people here may be sick of the rain and dampness and welcome the SUN.  But in perspective, we are still comfortable with what we are used to, what we are essentially made of and brought up with ....that, which is our core. I still prefer the hot Sun and they are more comfortable with the incessant Rains.

Doesn’t it all boil down to exactly this? We are always drawn towards/ impressed by/ motivated to be someone else. But when we actually get there, we know it is not all rosy. And that is when we begin to miss the coarse comfort of homespun and wish to be back again…back to what we are …. at 'THE CORE'.