Shillong and its Seasons

I have spent more than three decades in ‘Scotland of the East.’ Today when I question myself “What do the seasons of the place where you grew up mean to you?” a probing inquiry is made to elicit an answer out of yours truly and the following is the outcome.
Spring- The initial days in the Academic calendar of school; new text and exercise books that had to be neatly maintained; getting acclimatized to new teachers in the new class; a shift from cricket to football (or even hockey) to be played after school hours in the field in the vicinity; the Bihu festivities for close to a week near our house in the month of April in Forest Colony with colorful Bihu dances & singing and drama programmes in the evenings; the strong winds that occasionally lashed the town during the month of March that has since disappeared in the past several years. The above are a few associations with spring.
Monsoon- Did we ever have a marked Monsoon season? It rained throughout the year; whether it was April or October. I love the rains; nothing really matches the feeling you experience when drops create a pitter-patter sound on the tin roofs of the house; of course it is a messy affair when you’re out of the house and return home drenched. And your concerned Ma would come running with towels and a fresh set of clothes. Sometimes the rains would continue unabated for days; this resulted in water entering some of the houses in the low lying areas in Polo causing much discomfort to several families. Never heard of loss to human lives though during the season when the rivers were often in spate. The exquisite sound of hails hitting the tin roofs and the feeling that aroused from touching the fallen ones later is a fond recollection.
Autumn- Some clearing of the sky, less rain; it meant we could spend time out playing games or visiting cinema halls or Polo Grounds to watch a game of soccer. Roaming aimlessly in Police Bazaar admiring everything under the sky was another option left which we availed of frequently. And if you have a rupee or two in your pocket, a treat of chai and singaras from Guptas or UP Restaurant or Indian Diary, for recharging the batteries. The cherry blossoms are a real treat for the eyes; add to that the approaching Durga Pujas, and the season can compete with all the others in the allure.
Winter- I love the winters in Shillong; immediately after Diwali there’s a nip in the air; people return to their houses early and the streets are quite deserted. We used to have a community cleaning drive of our locality once a year around this time before Christmas – from every house there would be a few representatives who would actively participate in the cleaning drive; this is not surprising because Shillong is among the cleanest city in the country. The Christmas spirit and New Year pervades during Dec-Jan. The procession of young boys and girls (and a few elders at the rear) going around in our colony singing ‘We wish you a merry Christmas’ filled the air with a touch of divinity. It was also a period when we visited places across India; no studies meant that we could read story books and comics without feeling guilty. The Oranges dangling on the trees in many houses lined along the roads of the city and the spread of white on the green grass and tin roofs in the first couple of hours in the morning owing to frost are still imprinted in memory.
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