HYDERABAD: For years, the Indian education system has been lying to us. No, I’m not talking about the lie where they intently ask us to go find our ‘x’ and end up giving us permanent separation issues.
No, I’m not talking about the lie where they convinced us that ‘mitochondria is the powerhouse of a cell’ is the most important statement in the world. I’m bothered about the biggest lie they ever told us -- India has four seasons.
For all I know, the rest of India might have four seasons, but Hyderabad just has three -- summer, monsoon and winter. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to take on nature in this column. All I’m saying is why promise hopeful kids four things when there’s ever just going to be three. I remember I was in class III when my teacher taught us that there’s this magical period between winter and summer called spring.
She said this is the most beautiful time of the year; that the birds sing the loudest and flowers bloom the hardest during this time. I recall she mentioned how pretty the clear skies turn in spring and the weather was at its best. I remember looking at her in absolute awe and saying, ‘Teacher that sounds amazing,’ to which she said, ‘Yes, it is. It’s so good it puts a spring in your step -- hence the name.’
At that moment, all I wanted to do was see spring. I remember waking up every day for the next six months and asking my parents if spring had come. Every year since then, till I reached class XI, I waited for spring.
I remember sleeping on the balcony while being attacked by waves of mosquitoes because I didn’t want to miss spring when it finally came. Spring never came, malaria did -- twice. What added to my misery is brands still have ‘spring sales’ and ‘spring ranges’ for India without spring existing at all.
I understand being deluded, we all are at some level, but to be deluded to this level where you can see spring is worse than believing Kolkata biryani is better than Hyderabadi biryani.
Although this year, I feel I got two hours of spring. Hyderabad had one of its coolest and longest winters and apparently, it’s set for one of its hottest and longest summers too. Between this annoying transition (when you get the freezer-to-oven experience), on February 13, between 4 pm and 6 pm, I believe I experienced spring.
I heard birds sing loud, I saw flowers bloom, I saw clear skies as a gentle, pleasant breeze blew by. It was a surreal feeling -- but to be fair, I was very happy because I had just landed a date for Valentine’s Day. Everything felt like spring. I haven’t checked the Met Department data, but even if it was actually spring for two hours, it was so short we should call it a rubber band. And, let’s stop lying to innocent school kids.