A February-June Romance

Unbeknownst to the weathermen who really don't know the weather gods at all, February Winter had a date.This was supposed to be top secret, but as usual with weather gods who are terrible at keeping secrets, everyone who is anyone caught on quite soon. The wind had guessed right away and even before she got here, it had passed the word on; it gushed amongst trees, pulled at dupattas and nudged ponytails in the hope of catching their owner's attention, rushed through fallen leaves, swirled around bare ankles. Soon the world knew about it and the aroma that only the hope of rain can bring spread through the air like a contagious giggle. Those who had the noses of seafarers sniffed out the news and gasps of hope were uttered and rose to the sky like helium bubbles.

Very soon the sky was beginning to announce her arrival. She was a certain absent minded lady, who smelt of wet earth, with hair that always stayed dry. You see, Miss Monsoon was sought after year after year by every other season there is. Luckily for them, she was a sucker for romance and seldom stayed long. This time February Winter had won her affections and it's not hard to tell that he has been grinning from ear to ear and looking chuffed.

The courtship of the weather gods is always a pretty sight to behold, especially when Miss Monsoon is involved. Happiness sits in the air and in birdsong and the sweet smelling breeze. It is terribly hard to resist being part of it and before long even the surliest of souls will walk with a spring in their step and a silly little smile hovering around their face.

Illustration by Kate Hindley

This may last one day or many weeks, depending on Miss Monsoon and her whims. It starts off as a beautiful rain song played by the clouds and the wind and the leaves and the trees and rises to many dark clouded crescendos and periods of complete silence and at the very end, when you catch your breath, it begins to pour.


(Mr. Jukebox sings:  The Rain Song by Led Zeppelin)

Let's Fall in Love!

A little squirrel took charge of things and told her friends that they should all be falling in love. She had heard the most wonderful song about it and decided it was something wonderful and that it was about time someone did something about falling in it. Love, that is.

So she marched up and down and tried hatching a plan. The other squirrels were not entirely sure about all this and chewed nervously on a nut while their little friend marched around. They asked each other if they knew what exactly love was and why they would have to fall in to it.
The little squirrel tried explaining, but her head was too full of the song and all she could manage was some energetic foot tapping and a little rump shaking. It was something she just knew.

"You have to let your hearts discover," she told her friends importantly. She hummed a few verses of the song she heard while they looked at each other, puzzled.

The plan began to flourish with many haphazard elements such as moonlight dances and proclaiming one's love from tree tops and it was decided that the grand culmination would be a search for the finest cashew nuts which would be eaten with contentment on a branch of a chikoo tree. All that was missing was the object of her and her friends' affection. This was soon remedied. A young and eager koyal who sang from the tree the squirrels lived in was made to stand in as the romeo.

That evening a gaggle of uncertain squirrels led by the amorous little squirrel fell in love with a koyal who was quite aflutter with all the attention.
"Because our hearts are made of it," the little squirrel told the others afterwards.

(Have you heard Let's Fall in Love by Frank Sinatra?)