Pink petals of enchanting almond blossoms, swaying gently along with the mild breeze of buoyant and invigorating spring, refreshes and revitalizes stagnant souls stung by the venomous winter. The dense blooms of stone fruit trees like apricot, almond and plum make surroundings captivating, charming and fascinating. Pleasantly cool sunshine makes the demon of winter to vanish away. Buds about-to-sprout send optimistic vibes through the veins of those who have given up in despair. Monotony and boredom of winter disappears like bursted bubbles. Hanging branches of willows with green burgeons proclaim loudly that prostration adds volumes to the beauty of any creation.
These vivid symbols of nature corroborate the fact that the Creator of the universe has made everything to bow in submission, subordination and servitude before Him. Boisterous buzz of humming honey bees hovering over yellow mustard flowers, solace our ears which have tremendously suffered to the cacophony of manmade gadgets. The little winged creatures’ casual sitting on the fresh bloom is actually a complex process to manufacture the honey. Allah (SWT) has probably concealed the saccharine and sugary honey in the form of nectar, which these bombilating creatures suck from the delicate and radiant flowers. The sweetest natural syrup is not lesser than a potion for sick, weak and well.
Narcissus sounds the arrival of the spring with its whitish petals expanding upwards. The Narcissus is considered sacred in Kashmir valley, because it is mainly grown on graves to embellish and adore them. Another probable reason for growing Narcissus in graveyards is that the radicle of the flowering plant weaves a dense network of roots in the soil to prevent the penetration of rain water into the graves. Thus, the flower species has earned a symbolic epithet called Mazar Posh (Graveyard Flowers) in our valley.
With the inception of the spring season, the dead earth begins to sprout green hue to end the pessimism of harsh winter. Vicious winds of the early spring bring warmth and optimism to our spines though they look typhoonic and squally. Spring breeze awakes hibernating creatures and brings them to life. The zephyr of the spring gives magical touch to our gushing water streams and turns the Adams ale into a potion and elixir.
The spring ends the drought of brooks, canals and rivulets. Musical euphony produced by cascading currents of crystal clear water proclaims the advent of the season of colours, flowers and greenery. White cover of snow on lofty mountain peaks sends down message of magnanimity and charity, because they begin to melt themselves to feed the barren becks and brooks. The towering heights containing white-cover quench the thirst of dry water bodies selflessly. This charitable act of nature proves an old famous maxim right that a giver is always taller than a receiver. Feeding weak and starved never diminishes the stature of greats, rather it elevates it further.
The spring culminates the monotony and tedium of winter. Birds with polychromatic tinges return back to our valley. Hoopoes are seen digging deeper into soil with their long pointed beaks to unearth earthworms, sending industrious vibes among Adam’s progeny to make hay while the sun shines. Barn swallows reach back to their previous abodes, without forgetting their nests. Thrushes, sparrows, bulbuls and skylarks warble to fill the surroundings with musical emanations. Mynas and sparrows dip deep in puddles of rain water to wash off the probable dirt accumulated on their soft kaleidoscopic feathers, during penitentiary winter which cages everything behind its cruel bars of icicles.
The season of spring stimulates farmers and agriculturists to rush to their farmlands. The farms look earnestly waiting for their tillers to grow the bounties of nature from the soil. The hard-working class sows seeds of different veggies and fruits. Flower and vegetable saplings grown under confined conditions in poly houses, grace our lawns and gardens earlier. Hawkers tread the alleys and footpaths of villages to sell seeds of traditional veggies. Rural women unfold their woollen potlis to prepare their seeds for sowing. I remember how my grandmother used a hollow dried bitter-gourd to store different seeds of cucurbitaceae family in it. Even uncut brinjals were hung in attics of houses. Many roof eaves still exhibit the rare sight of hanging brinjals containing dried seeds. These brinjals are called Baiel Wangan in our local parlance. Well, the spring unravels our every mystery and secret.
Spring helps the mother earth to break her dormancy. The season’s first showers come down with a magical tonic to rejuvenate the latent life. The season sprays an antidote on every soul to remove the venom of cruel winter. Inception of spring impregnates the mother earth with the boon of mamta, love and empathy. The mother abandons herself to suckle the progeny of Adam.
(Author is a Teacher and a Rising Kashmir Columnist. He can be reached at [email protected])
