The first mangoes are appearing on the vegetable carts....new bird sounds from arriving migrants - the clear call of an early Cuckoo....but above all the shimmering heat of summer has arrived, with temperatures of around 40 degrees !
As the heat ratchets up and reaches a peak about midday, things go quiet - shops hide behind makeshift shades, swaddling themselves and lights are switched off, as shopkeepers find the coolest place under the counter to sleep and while away the hottest part of the day. The street empties of people and those few who are out, walk slowly, women hide their heads under their saris. The dust of a long, dry, year, lies white and hot and fine as talcum powder, in drifts along the roadside. A street dog has found a bucket, half filled with water and climbed in, immersed up to its shoulders in the soothing wetness, its head poking out the top, eyes dreamy as its panting tongue lolls out of its mouth. Street vendors relinquish the task of selling, to put their feet up and snooze away the day - this is the start of four long hot summer months in Gujarat !
As the heat ratchets up and reaches a peak about midday, things go quiet - shops hide behind makeshift shades, swaddling themselves and lights are switched off, as shopkeepers find the coolest place under the counter to sleep and while away the hottest part of the day. The street empties of people and those few who are out, walk slowly, women hide their heads under their saris. The dust of a long, dry, year, lies white and hot and fine as talcum powder, in drifts along the roadside. A street dog has found a bucket, half filled with water and climbed in, immersed up to its shoulders in the soothing wetness, its head poking out the top, eyes dreamy as its panting tongue lolls out of its mouth. Street vendors relinquish the task of selling, to put their feet up and snooze away the day - this is the start of four long hot summer months in Gujarat !
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