The summer in South Bengal is generally marked by a scorching sun, hot winds called ‘loo’ and people perspiring. At our drought-prone small town of Bishnupur in Bankura district of West Bengal, the mercury during mid-summer generally touches 45°C.
Yet, during childhood the month-long summer vacation from mid-May to mid-June was still a time of solace for us. Every year my parents would take us children to our ancestral house in a nearby hamlet called Hatgram during the vacation. Despite the heat, we looked forward to spend the summer days in our small, green hamlet.
Our favourite haunt was a small forest patch adjacent to the village which had many mango, jackfruit and jamun trees. There was a small pond nearby where we would spend hours swimming.
Afternoons were spent near a little brook that had knee-deep water. We would spend many a happy moment there picking up pebbles or watching little fish in the clear water, while dangling our feet in the flowing stream.
Sometimes there were kite flying contests with other village kids in open fields. We would use a special preparation to sharpen our kite string to be one up from other kids.
The nights were not less enchanting and thrilling — lying with our cousins on rope cots in the open courtyard under a clear sky full of twinkling stars. Sometimes, jackals would invade the corn field behind our house during the night, adding an extra thrill. I can still hear the receding calls of the village ‘choukidar’ alerting villagers against thieves.
However, there was holidays homework to contend with, as our teachers would give us loads of homework to spoil our enjoyment. Needless to say, the end of the vacation would be woefully marked by unfinished homework.
Gone are those happy summer vacation days spent in the lap of nature. Regretfully, today’s Children don’t chase after kites or run in the mango groves to collect fallen fruits during ‘kalbaisakhi’ (Nor’wester) storm in the afternoon.
Buddhadev Nandi, Bishnupur (West Bengal)
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