The alarm clock that woke me up was not the fancy tune on my
mobile, nor the electronic one that jars you awake and makes you want to
bury your head deeper into your blanket and wish the sound would go away. Neither
was it a recorded voice that urges you to wake up and reminds you of the
mechanical day you need to start, if you need to get on in life. No, it was the sound of a rooster crowing in the deep stillness of the morning, in a place where you open your eyes
and you don’t even hear the whirring sound of the fan in the background.
By habit, one would want to go back to sleep. By habit of laziness, I would tell
myself, I am not compelled to get up; I am on a holiday. That thought did cross my mind for a second.
However, I found the need for food to my soul was greater than my need
for physical rest. The former won, and I was down on the bay window seat in ten
minutes, waiting for the promised sight the sun rise would offer. Huddled in
a thick blanket with a woolen cap on my head, I was hardly visible to anyone
else, with just two eyes peering out at the darkness, willing the sun to rise!
He took his own time.
Meanwhile, my sensory organs were tuned in to the surroundings perfectly.
I could hear the silence… I could hear the rooster crowing time and again, and I noticed, it was at regular
intervals. I could hear an occasional dog bark in the distance, maybe at the milk
vendor who goes from door to door, milking the cow for the residents and giving
them fresh, warm milk. Milk in packets is a novelty here! My auditory perception was at its peak… The swish of the eucalyptus leaves as they brushed and
swished against each other, when the birds stirred restlessly…
The
chirping started and all this while, I kept staring at the sky. It had been pitch dark when I came downstairs. Now it was slowly changing to light, and I could see
the clouds slowly taking various shapes, as the golden rays - or are they
pink? I'm not really sure - fell on them. The hill
ranges remained dark at the base, but the top of the ranges started appearing as the light slowly fell on them, and I
almost forgot to click pictures as I stared, mesmerized, at the transformation nature had to offer!
My cup of hot coffee became cold; I was not willing to take
my eyes away even for a second as I was afraid I might miss out on some
wondrous sight. Slowly, as the world basked in the light of dawn, I could see the
reflection of the sun on the windows; and I realized that though the light had been
peering from one mountain range, the sun played hide and seek with me. Suddenly, I found the sun popping up from behind yet another mountain, and it seemed
he was grinning at me as if to say, 'tricked you'!
If you are watching a sunrise for the first
time, then let me tell you, you will not really know which spot on the
sky he is going to greet you from, other than the general direction of the East! There
he is, nice and bright, all done up and ready for yet another day, blessing the
world with his light and warmth… Never am I going to complain about the heat of the
plains, after witnessing how welcome he is here!
The chirping grew louder; the crowing cock fell silent: he
was done for the day; I could hear my family come down for their breakfast; the
occasional sounds of the vehicles passing by on the road signaled it was time for me
to get on with my day.
But what a truly beautiful start to life!
