Dear Readers,
So the good news is that Climate Change could not play a spoil sport in two of the most charming festivals of our culture- Lohri and Makar Sankranti. The beginning of 2016 saw a dramatic rise in temperatures making us ponder if winters were all but gone. Trademark winter accessories like sweaters, woolen gloves or sun-bathing were all rendered useless as we were forced to use the AC's in our cars during the day even in the month of January. However, things took a sudden change again and the winter was back on track on 13th evening as if it announced its arrival to partake in the Lohri bonfires.
The day of the second festival was awesome. 15th saw the Pink City living up to its image and history of the 'city of festivals' with thousands of kites taking to the sunny and resplendent sky of our beloved Jaipur. The city-sky had turned into a riot of colors and activity and rhythm resembling a dance floor or a concert stadium with hundreds of kites grooving in to the music. The night brought with it fireworks and quite amusingly, a unique addition to the city skyline: hundreds of candle-kites floating in the air like an army of fireflies.
I spent a happy and cozy time on the terrace of my home. To give me company was a masterpiece book Jaipurnama written by the renowned historian Giles Tillotson whom I had the honor of meeting a few weeks back only. While flipping through the pages of the book and staring at the sky, one question skirted my mind. (This question emanated out of the displeasure over the ruckus created on the issue of 'tolerance-intolerance' in our nation about which my last post spoke in detail). I wondered if all these kite-enthusiasts realized that most of their kites were crafted by our Muslim brethren. Just like these kites in the cozy air, tolerance, love, compassion and diversity is in the warp and weft our living......Happy flying!
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