April showers bring May flowers

The proverb ASbMF displays English sentiments. In parts of Ireland, Scotland and UK the weather in April changes from warm sunshine to icy sleet in a day. The April showers are a continuous thing offering little respite. Suddenly in May the clouds part, the sun shines through and the flowers blossom. It must be an absolutely amazing experience. Aaaah! They gasp. All that wait and suffering was worth it. How beautiful the land looks!

Perhaps the first to use this phrase was Geoffrey Chaucer in about 1400. Chaucer writes in the Prologue to Canterbury Tales, When the April showers, and the blossoms of May have given way to mellow June ... only Then will the pilgrims begin to move.

The turn of every season brings on happiness and hope. (Man is such a creature of change!!)
In India a rain is always welcome. So perhaps we do fail to understand the grouse they may have against April showers! Still, too much rain, means clogged drains, flooded streets and damp socks ... this can be quite painful. In Delhi we have our own treasure of May flowers. They are called GOLDEN SHOWERS!

cassia fistula - amaltas - yellow shower

Our friend Ajit, roped in a trusted peer and managed most of the office work, took his wife to an evening out, and on the way home visited his friend's baby. Yesterday was April Shower...but he lived it through and
Look at him now, bibi khush, baby ka baba khush and boss bhi khush
Today it is May flowers indeed!

My father had sound advice... this specially on the day I brought home my report card.
Kai kesaradare bai mosaru ... a proverb in Kannada that literally translates to ... if hand gets marshy, mouth gets curd!! A diligent farmer reaps a good harvest and lives well.
This too shall pass ...

• Do your harsh duties today and the good times will come.

-------------------------
one more picture of Golden shower

amaltas - yellow canopy in May

Any time means no time

An American in America stops to help me. I say 'Thank you for helping me with the bags' and he shrugs and says 'Anytime'.
The Indian in me is confused. The coin gently tinkles into place. 'Anytime' - it is like saying -no problem.
It is maybe a contraction of - Oh! I would be happy to do it for you any time!

That takes me back to Calcutta... and a totally different use of "Any time"
We had uncles and aunties at the culture-club where we met on Thursdays ... friends of our middle class parents, secretly feeling a bit uppish because they worked on higher pay-scales. At the end of the social gatherings smiling adults would nod and say to each other ... haan so let us meet outside also. Do visit us with your family - Any Time. ... Banni yava-glaro!
meaning ... well .. it's ok...no hurry...don't take it too seriously!!

Our friend Ajit has to develop 3 avatars today.
twenty days ago his boss handed him a file and said not priority... do it any time you are free
2 months back his friend got a lovely baby girl. He decided to visit them... sometime ... Any time.
5 years ago he married. She had said let's go for a musical concert. He said, sure ... anytime
and today the file, the baby visit and the are due. They have all said TODAY!

Truth is
when you hear - any time - you can assume the job will remain - not done
we work on - dead lines - and if no dead line is set, the job just does not get done.
that is a reality
Any time means no time

All cats are grey in the dark

Beauty and physical appearance is given way too much thought space ... much more than it deserves.
Stunning looks knock us down..........other sadder looks put us off
but the sway of looks can be only temporary. Finally it is the performance that counts
so while selecting
a chauffeur ... a cook
a secretary ... a spouse
a sofa set ... a cell phone ... a house
remember:
All cats are grey in the dark
It is the stuff inside that really calls the shots.

We had been to Zangoora the dance-drama-theatre show in Gurgaon. All actors boogied on to the stage and took positions. The stage was dark. We saw only mingling silhouettes. We watched, mildly curious.The spot lights came on. The lead actor Hussain,  a familiar face on TV, spread his arms wide Shahrukh style... and the discerning audience gasped. Is it he?? We watched with renewed vigour.
All cats are grey in the dark.
But who wants to be the grey cat? We work, we entertain, we dress and we pray only so that we do not remain grey cats. That is what all the strife and struggle is all about.

I have used the proverb in two different ways. Both imply that it is the stuff inside that counts.
The first way of using it is the traditional one. This is the way Benjamin Franklin used it in his absolutely stunning letter to his friend ... urging him to choose between an old woman and a wife!

The second is what I have seen in the more recent books.