It has been sultry for the past couple of weeks . The kind of midday heat , with burning air seeping inside the house , through the gap beneath doors ,up nostrils and wilting the plants half an hour after watering .
Molten golden sunlight sizzles up the puddles. Dried caked mud cracks into helpless gaps.
Mynahs wander around with open beaks looking for moisture , and the world becomes eerily quiet in the blazing haze of the afternoons . Even the birds fall silent.
You'd expect the world to dry up and shrivel in this heat . It doesn't . It is late spring and all the trees have burst into baby leaves. Mango and peepul have fragile purple maroon foliage, which glisten with life and vigor . Almost overnight these baby leaves loose their shine , change colour and are hardened green adults ready to face the verdant adulthood .
Sap green leaves have sprouted on jackfruit, banyan, and gulmohar trees , which again become darker green as times passes .
Bit by bit , almost imperceptibly , nature has donned a multi hued , lush green mantle on its bare woody winter bones .While we hide in the shelter of our homes , live in shades , drink cool water and try to remain hydrated .
The forest's answer to the heat wave is greening the shimmering skies. Tree upon tree is adorned with emeralds , jades and lapiz lazuli , glittering in the burning gaze of a relentless sun.
Suddenly transformed into a veritable jewellery parade , unflinching in the face of unprecedented heat.
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