Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Seasons In the Sun

There are only three kinds of seasons here in Karachi - summer, light summer and extreme summer. No winter, nor Spring, nor Autumn. Well, actually, winter's when your ice-cream doesn't melt within 45 secs of purchase. Autumn is when you see a few dried leaves scattered here and there. And spring...well, you almost never truly notice spring. Here, seasons are either categorized by the calendar or by a few visual traits. You don't truly feel them. They're almost always too hot. Evenings and nights are quite pleasant though, with frequent cool breezes. If you notice the change, each season has its own charm.

There are plenty of things that you can enjoy during Summer as well. Nothing feels better than a cold, fruity drink and a dip in the pool when it's 46 degrees out (that's Celsius, mind you). A picnic on the beach feels great too - it is a weird combination of the sun warming your head and water cooling your feet. Personally, I like the beach most when it's clouded and windy. I guess water sports are the best way to cool off on a hot summer day. As a kid, the only reason why I liked summer was because we would get summer vacations, allowing me to come to Karachi and meet all my cousins, as well as go on picnics. Now we live in Karachi and everyone is so busy with their life that we don't get to hang out as much as we used to. Basically, I don't enjoy summers too much. The heat gets to me bad.

Perhaps it's the little girl in me, but I love stomping on the dry leaves in Autumn. The whole look of the orange, almost falling, leaves is awesome. And raking the lawn with slight wind blowing has its own charm. I'd love to capture that scene on film, but as I said, Karachi almost never has that.

Spring...flowers! So many of them, everywhere! Roses, pansies, DAFFODILS! I love daffodils - from their appearance to their smell! Pansies are funny looking. They're fun to play with too - dog flowers, as we sometimes call them. Roses. Honestly, I don't like roses all that much. But I like them in groups, and these certain kinds that get this awesome color, not the conventional red, white, etc., but a bouquet of red and white roses is just so princess like! :$ Heh. Dragonflies, butterflies, good cool weather, colorful flowers and their fragrance, etc. - all the things are what make this season so nice. However, I never thought that spring had a romantic touch to it. That'd probably be autumn or winter for me.


Winter. Loveee winter! The good thing about me is I feel the same amount of cold, whether it's 4 degrees or -14. It's weird, but that is how it is! So one warm jacket or my potato sack sweater, a pair of jeans and socks are all I need to keep me warm - hot chocolate too maybe, but that's besides the point. :p Winter has this very cozy feel to it, for me at least. I love snow! The last time I saw real snow was 5 years ago perhaps, when we were in Quetta. That wasn't too much. You would see snow-capped mountains, but not much snow on ground around you. Winters are best for that cuddly feeling and sweet romantic moments, in my opinion.

It can be any season, but rain, clouds and wind, and you have the best weather! I have some problems with the rain, but that is only because of the decorum that has to be maintained while being a girl out in the rain in public. I just love watching it and enjoying it as much as I can, in whatever way, which usually means jeans and a T-shirt and being near home. :P Karachi is so not equipped to handle large amounts of rain, and hence, it becomes a big nuisance! But in Punjab, even after days and days of rain, it's unusual to see any stagnant banks of water on the roads. Heh, for some reason, our house always used to leak, so that sucked :P.. And the light!....

More than rain, I enjoy the scene of lush green trees swaying with a strong breeze against a dark gray cloudy sky!

Ever felt that you can smell the season or a change in it? I have. In Punjab, you can see and feel the change in every season. Each has this specific smell! It's hard to explain, but it's like I would wake up in morning and almost feel it - it's in the smell of air that surrounds you. I know, I know, seasonal changes aren't so abrupt that you wake one morning and whoosh! It's winter... But it's hard to explain. Summers and Springs - I could Smell both. It's an amazing feeling that fills up the senses in this wonderful way. I miss that. I miss a lot of things about most of the places that I got to live in.

Seasons come and go, its like an 'endless' cycle. So in the spirit of that, I wont give this post an ending. Tada, hah!

*Winter and Autumn Picture by T.H*

Thank you for visiting :D Time well wasted, no? ;)