The winters bring lot of dry crisp air. When the monsoon winds have gone back to their other home across the Indian Ocean, The Indian subcontinent is dry and sunny. Clear sky exudes soft heat to the cold shivering deciduous forests, as the sprawling, lazy mornings get up late everyday…!
The mountain slopes are turning sunny gold, as the grassy covers turn dry in crusty wintry air. The deciduous forests are kind though. All of the trees shed their leaves at different time in winter, to keep the forest cover intact through out the rough time. And they result into giving a multicolored cloak to the mountain monks!
Silent and sun bright afternoons mark ovals of shade under most of the trees in middle of shining golden meadows. A solitary cow grazes her afternoon away under there, crunching a rare green leaf slowly… Cold winter winds carry the heat far off, soothing her hot dry cow skin…
As few hours of noon pass by, chill starts crawling into the evening. Villagers return back to homes as the cold sharp winds shove every one into huddled up villages. Clear sky then gets streaked with occasional smoky line twining from a bonfire. People gather there to pass on gossips as crisp as the winter! And the village dogs decide to rest by the warmth, instead of running mad barking at night.
Far away you can locate bright golden fire in forest over the mountain. Dryness of winter sinks into old ancient tree barks and frictions them into a forest fire. Even from far you can feel the unease of wild animals around the fire….
There is chilled silence in the starry nights as it grows late and dark…. The rustle of dry wind and occasional wood log crashing into ashes of long died bonfire are the only breaks in continued flow of silent night.
The forest, the meadows and the sleeping village is inwardly waiting for the morning, for the sun to rise and warm their chilled insides…
A solitary tree standing in a meadow drops its crusty yellow leaf soft and silent like a tear drop in waiting of the warmth…
Let there be morning….
And let there be light….