“The day Lord created hope was probably the same day he created Spring.” – Bernard Williams
The mountains look clear now. A thin blanket of snow is still trapped over their surface. When the rays of the sun touch the frizzy surface of the snow, it reflects back and blurs the eyes. The clouds have opened and stretched up their arms and move carelessly in different directions. Birds move thoroughly in the sky, and it gives us immense pleasure to enjoy their chirping sounds and their soothing belated voices. A small thin layer of green, fleshy grass evolves from the earth’s surface after the deep torture by the snow and the rains. Nature seems to be in a refreshing mode.
The curtains of my room still stop the daylight from coming inside. The environment looks cool and favourable outside. Nature’s tolerance increases a bit – and this can be justified by the small things and creatures present in galore. The tulips of different colours and shades bloom with resplendent colours. The almond trees, now a symbol of love and beauty, are in full bloom. Their little, sharp, coloured flowers fall with a new zest that drives my imagination. It just gives new hope to my heart.
Spring in Kashmir is usually the season of ‘bloom’. The almond trees usually bloom in this phase. Wherever we find an almond tree, we are desperate to click its picture. It looks beautiful when the almond trees occupy some place in the countryside and also make the people and their journey more enthusiastic and energetic by ‘walking beside them’.
Not only almond trees, little tulips also carry a message. They stand for love and peace among people. The fragrance of the tulips invades the human soul and flows in our bodies as a natural scent. The trees, which were in search of new life and colour (as winter had made their life hopeless and colourless), soon find that a new life is evolving through their withered bodies. A new thin layer of the green fleshy coat has appeared. The snow and the rains had made them hopeless – but with the onset of spring, I can see a new life in them.
The immense cold too disappears – and now, a cold wind flutters only during the evenings. People also get rid of their winter camouflages by shedding off their warm clothes. But, our elderly people can still be seen in pherans, gossiping outside small wooden half-broken shops in the town. Their wrinkled faces and scars left permanently on their skin speak of many things. They tell us about their struggles which they faced during their youth.
Some people can also be seen in the orchards, slowly returning back to the days of hard work. Children too enjoy the spring. Every day comes with a different feeling of joy, especially when they leave their homes early in the morning, making their way to the nearby hill to fly their kites. Little kite runners throng to the hills to raise their coloured kites in the open sky. The sky becomes ‘artificially coloured’ during this time.
The duals (rivers and streams) make their way through the dense forest and reach the plains. The sound produced by the waves after touching the stony layers gives me immense pleasure and helps me escape from the grief of daily life. When the chirping of birds provides us the pleasure of music and the green grass acts as a natural sofa, it is hard to leave behind the aura of a spring in Kashmir.
A version of this post was previously published here.
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