Journey through the Countryside…

Here is a short and sweet imaginary journey through the countryside. The amount of pleasure you experience while reading this post solely depends on how well you use your imagination.

Are you ready to give the eyes of your mind, a big treat? Here is what the countryside has to offer...bamboo-rich mountain slopes, fully bloomed flowers swarmed over by bees, red-beaked parrots biting ripened fruits, cool waterfalls, farmers sowing seeds in their well ploughed broad fields, blue lily blooms in the lake waters, curl-horned buffaloes giving milk to their toddling calves, clear water puddles filled with leaves, boys bathing in the chilled lake waters at dawn, herds of cows with bells round their necks are grazing, hares are running on the cool grass, appealing view of the sparkles created by the sun’s first rays upon the lake waters, etc. It would be a pleasure to watch all those scenes. This is the season of cool rains; you find greenery almost everywhere. Visiting the countryside in this season is like a blessing in disguise.

Look at that mesmerizing scenery of the mountain tops vanishing into the clouds. Are you able to hear the syrupy sounds of birds and bees? See towards your left, can you find the deer wandering around? Now turn to your right, is there a beautiful lake? Take a deep breath; can you smell the fragrance of fresh flowers in the air? If your answer is yes, then here we are, just arrived at the right place, ‘the countryside’. The dove coos excitedly and the bees are singing in a happy choir, announcing our arrival.

The air here is full of oxygen, enough to raise the spirit of the lungs up to the brim. Leaves are scattered by the southern breeze. The blade of grass is soft, smooth and silky. The farmers are sowing paddy seeds in their wide fields and also clearing the weeds. From the lake’s grass-grown bank, you can observe the reflection of the beautiful landscape in the cool lake waters. At the far corner of the lake, a flock of white swans are swimming. Such a sweet smell, are you carrying a bottle of perfume with you? No, actually the air is filled by the smell of jasmine buds, yes, few jasmine plants have grown on the edges of the paddy fields and this scent is their contribution.

The cuckoo started screaming, flying from one branch to another, like a weather satellite with his forecast of rain. Suddenly there is a cloud burst, wait don’t run for shelter, we have come for enjoying the beauty of nature and not to shy away. Get drenched in this celestial seasonal rainfall, who knows, this may be our life’s last rainy season, don’t let go such an occasion.

Did you happen to drink few drops of this rain water? They must be really sweet? Aren’t they? They ought to be sweet because this gigantic cloud family rounded up the whole globe collecting the vaporized drops from all the oceans, seas, rivers, lakes, ponds and almost every water body they have come across and here they are offering us the taste of their longtime collection.

Here, I have a small doubt, who told these clouds to sacrifice themselves by melting in air and pour down the joy of rain? Well, it was according to Mother Nature’s holy plan, once she called an angel and said “Our crops stood thirsty for water, send a message to the clouds to shower rains and quench the thirst of dry fields, on their way to distant lands”. The angel conveyed Mother Nature’s holy message and from then onwards, clouds follow the instruction and we are blessed with rains in this season every year.

Each rain drop created its own ripple on the lake surface and here is an awesome view of multiple ripples caused by the rain drops. Also it can be observed that the clouds are watering the newly sowed paddy fields, allowing the seeds to absorb water and get adjusted to the soil. The clouds decided to relax a bit and the rain had to stop for a while, now you can see that butterflies in various colors started flying around.

A farmer just finished sowing seeds in his field and offered his little daughter a bunch of sweet lilies which had the scent of eternity. He was glad that the rains had come at the right time and hoped to get a rich harvest like the previous year.

On this happy occasion, he planned to give his fellow workers a small treat. He went inside his small hut and brought a basket full of fruits and served sweet plantains, pomegranates, ripe jack fruits on banana leaves. Juice of those fruits will taste like nectar as they were plucked from trees which had grown on the fertile hilly land. He then brought a clay pot that was hanging by the side of his hut and offered sweet butter from it, which was prepared by his wife. The feast came to an end with the guests washing their hands from the old well, present beside the hut. The well is an old one; its walls have worn out and covered by moss.

Then the farmer gets ready and leaves for the village fair, promising to bring a sari to his wife and pretty bangles for his cute little daughter. It's time for us to take leave, let us meet the farmer and his family again and be his guests during the harvest season treat. I’m sure, his hard work pays and he will taste enormous success, yielding a rich harvest of his crop. By the time we reach here next season, he will have mountainous stocks of paddy and we can get to taste the sweet rice.