Clouded Vision

I love looking at clouds. I don't try to make out shapes and patterns, I just watch them. I love the way they are lit up in different ways by the sunlight, the way they move, slowly limbering across the horizon like they don't have a worry in the world, the way they sometimes merge with bigger and more spectacular ones and add to its glory, the way they curtain us from the sun shielding us from its harsh rays and instantly creating a heavenly atmosphere, the kind when you look out the window and say things like "sexy weather!", "wow! thank you God", "it's about to rain, hurray!" or my favourite "awesome मौसम (mausam)! let's get out of here".

I love them best when the sun is around to provide the lighting effects for this spectacular show. The huge fluffy ones that look like great masses of pure silky cotton of whom only the upper parts are lit up by the sun making them look like like they've been buttered up(yummy), oh what a sight! Then there are the ones which are shapeless, misty and light and blow with the wind. There's nothing special about how they look except their swift, effortless and smooth movement. Then there are some small darker ones which float around so low that you feel like if you were on a taller building you would be able to touch them. And then there is my favourite kind of cloud and light show, huge white clouds spreading across with rays of sunlight filtering through them. Awesome! Beautiful! Simply inspirational! I can look at this scene all day long.

I remember a very fine morning not so long ago in Agra. I hadn't been able to sleep all night(literally) because there was this power cut and it was hot and there were a lot of mosquitoes(those wretched things, I hate them to death, they're the only reason why I like the winter season better because there are no mosquitoes). So morning came finally and I decided to freshen up and was so eager that I got ready a good hour before evryone else. So I had to wait before we could leave the place. An hour to kill! What to do? No TV, no light, not even a fan! So I went for a walk. I noticed a light breeze blowing and it felt so good that I decided to go to the terrace for some more.

It was very early in the morning, around 6 I guess(that's way too early according to most young people's standards, my grandpa considers 4 an early start!) and there was a serene atmosphere. No noise, not many people around except morning-walkers and especially no cars, just birds chirping gleefully and the breeze blowing softly. And then I looked skywards into the east. What a sight! I don't think I've seen a more beautiful morning ever in my life. The sun was just climbing slowly and there was an orange-yellowish tint all around. There were two distant and really long clouds that covered the entire horizon and a lot of small cloudlets all over the place and they were basking in the same colours, and crawling at a snail's pace. As the sun kept rising further the colour kept changing, and every change was a different painting altogether. I tried but couldn't find any picture that fit the bill, perhaps because there can't be one that fits. It was a you-had-to-be-there thing.

So getting up early in the morning isn't such a bad thing after all if you get a chance to experience nature like I did. And the weather in the morning is more pleasant than any other time of the day.