Good morning friends
Today is Gudhi Padwa, the beginning of the new year according to the Hindu calendar. It is the first day of the first month ( चैत्र ) of the Hindu calendar.
We normally associate Gudhi Padwa with the beginning of spring. As we look around, we can see the change in the temperatures, the trees with their new leaves, the blooming of flowers,. This period is labelled as वसंतोत्सव, which means celebrating the spring. It indicates the beginning of new life everywhere.
Yesterday, as I sat in my balcony and looked at the trees lining the compound wall of our society, I could see the stark difference in the trees, from the picture that I saw 15-20 days ago. At that time, the trees had lost all their leaves and looked bare. But now, with the beginning of spring, the trees are adorned with new leaves. The cycle of nature continues in all its glory.
But these days, have you noticed that the abnormal weather patterns are more predominant than the usual natural cycles ? Just yesterday we had heavy rain falls in Mumbai and some other regions. In the last few years untimely rains have become a rule rather than an exception, causing severe damage to crops and fruit harvests.
And if we observe minutely, we can notice these changes everywhere around us. There is a Badam tree next to my bedroom window and until a few years ago, like clockwork, the Badam tree would change the colours of its leaves to orange, before the beginning of winter. It would then shed all these orange leaves and in a few days time, the tree would be dancing with new leaves. In the last few years, however, with the changing weather patterns, the Badam trees seems to have lost its inherent wisdom and starts shedding its leaves at odd times. I feel that it gets confused with the changes in the climate.
Don’t we see similar things happening everywhere? Untimely rains, increasing frequency and intensity of
natural calamities as compared to the last century are adversely affecting us.
We all know that man himself is responsible for these aberrations in nature. I hope that on the occasion of this first day of spring, all of us can pledge to restore and revive nature to its original splendour.
Love,
Anjali Bhatawdekar
