Things of Joy — Part 1

(Just an attempt to write about things that bring me joy, and hoping some of you feel it too. 🙂 In times of darkness, it helps to acknowledge the light in ourselves and our lives. This will be a continuing series on taking care of our mental health during Corona…)

I have always felt my happiest at the onset of the summer season. The days get longer, and somehow I relate that to life getting longer in the form of glorious cool mornings, and orange-hued evenings. My earliest memories are of course of the summer vacation, a bunch of carefree kids who had the best times just playing out in the garden.

I, my brother and a small gang of no-good kids designing our entire day around what kind of games to play depending on what time of the day it is. We woke up late, had our breakfast, and assembled in the tiny airy courtyard of our grandmother’s house for the first half of the day. The usual routine was to play cards. We had developed a series of card games beginning with the most difficult (for our age) — rummy, followed by a few others, and ending with simpler stuff like slapjack. We were proud and quite adamant about playing in this exact sequence, although in hindsight I feel it just helped us avoid fights about which card game to play, as each one of us had our favorite.

After lunch, we would wait for our mothers/grandmothers to doze off, so we could sneak out and meet the gang again. This time we would stick to more creative pursuits like making cold cream out of Ponds talcum powder, and of course, there was also an attempt to create different types of soil in the garden such as brown soil, black soil, etc. from different colored stones we could find. There was an old stone barrel that we used as a roller to crush down smaller stones as we slowly rolled them forward while standing on it. It was an intense game of balance and scientific exploration, to invent different types of soil.

And as the sun went down, we would retreat to a neighborhood apartment’s terrace where mini gangs came together to make a larger gang and play more social games like chain- chain, and color- color crocodile and such. All of this ended when it got dark, and the sun slowly set. That’s why we liked the long days I guess — the evenings were longer. There were loud calls from each of our homes to get back, and we bought time with our most earnest voices promising to be back in a few minutes. 

When I was in high school, I was going through some difficult stuff. I didn’t really understand most of it. (Mental health was never a topic that any school/household really knew about. ) Towards the end of it, just around February or March, things started looking better for me. I bunked school a lot and cherished the afternoons I had at my home, in a tiny room, surrounded by books and an old tape recorder (Strictly no TV because -Board EXAMS!) I associate summer afternoons with hope just lounging around in a corner thinking about the amazing possibilities my future is gonna bring. Even today, when I see the day extend beyond 6:30 p.m. or so, my heart leaps with the feeling of hope, and how wonderful it’s all gonna be. 

Nostalgia is powerful, you know. There is a reason why certain things transport you to your most uncorrupt self and make you feel better instantly.

Summers have always been a big dose of nostalgia for me. They bring me joy. ( Shakespeare thinks so too.) The last few months have been hard for all of us in so many ways. I cannot even imagine all the different ways this crisis affects each one of us. In addition to the lives we have lost, and the economic losses so many are facing, I dread to think about the largely unnoticed mental health repercussions of a global crisis such as Corona.

The one thing that has actually worked for me was my decision to stop consuming media and a whole lot of negativity. It is important to know some facts, but if it makes you anxious and paralyzed, then it is no good. I am thankful for all the people trying to spread positivity with their art and their wonderful talents. This is a small attempt to make all of you think about things that bring you joy.

Despite the tough circumstances we are in, I cannot help but wonder how glad I am to be stuck at home at the time of summer and not otherwise.

I have a feeling the days are slightly better because they are longer. I have two extra hours in the evening to sit in front of my window looking at the gorgeous view of a mango tree in full bloom as I write this. Now, isn’t that something to cherish?

Does summer make you happy too? What makes you nostalgic about summers?