THE SEASONS OF AUTUMN AND WINTER

 THE SEASONS OF AUTUMN AND WINTER

By November the autumn season has ended and the cold winter season has started in December all over the temperate countries of the West. Autumn is a beautiful season with the trees turning colours and that colourful foliage fall when the wind blows or otherwise because of their senescence. That’s why Americans call autumn the fall season. I was fortunate to see the autumn and winter seasons in France, Denmark, the UK and the USA. Since I was young at that point in time, I could enjoy these seasons even in the biting cold, rain and snow. The autumn with drizzling rain mixed with the fallen foliage of the trees makes a mess in the footpaths of the city roads of those countries. I still remember those scenes as if I were seeing them now. But in photographs and videos, the such mess will not be projected. Only the colourful leaves of those trees like the maple and the falling leaves are visible in the picture. The trees lining the highway roads and the trees growing in the woods are to be enjoyed on a car trip. Finally, it would be a great job for corporations to put people to gather these fallen leaves and transport them somewhere to make manure or burn them off. I do not know what exactly they do with it?

The bare trees without beautiful leaves during the months of winter enter into a stage of dormancy. Those poor trees drenched with pure white snow remain to wake up when the spring season arrives. The quantum of snowfall varies from place to place as the rainfall in our place. I have seen the snowfall in the Alps mountains where some of my French friends took me for skinning – a game to glide on snow by skating. They hired a pair of skis, boots and bindings and a pair of poles, helmet and ski gloves for me and made me a ski sportsman. They took some photographs of me when I tried to ski, it was funny. I could move with the ski in both my legs for a short distance balancing with the two poles. Indeed it was an unforgettable memory. I cannot forget about those winter seasons. It was a sight to see the corporation people clear the snow deposited on the roads every morning for the traffic to move on. 

Besoncon (pronounced as Besonson) is one of the cities I was sent to learn French when I went to France for the first time. Every day the French class started at 8 am. I used to get up at 7 am and take breakfast in the canteen. Then my friends from countries like Malaysia and Thailand walk on the snot to reach the French school. Some days we have to walk on 2 or 3-foot-high snow on the road. We used to play by throwing snowballs. When the snow melts, water mixed with the soil on the road makes a mess. I spent a holiday during winter at Odense of Denmark with a lovely Danish family. I met them on a summer holiday in Copenhagen. It was also a memorable part of my life. They used to take me around Odense to show me the snow-covered parks, houses and playgrounds.

Thus my experience with autumn and winter in western countries comes to mind when my Facebook and Tumblr friends sent me photos and videos of these scenes of autumn and winter seasons. You might have also experienced these seasons in those countries. But where I live nowadays – Coimbatore does not have autumn and winter. The winter temperature does not go below 18 degrees Celsius. It’s better for me as I am 80 plus now. I feel it is a lovely place where I live now. Many Decembers have come and many more to come! The Xmas followed by my birthday and retirement from service on 31 December are coming for a happy celebration. My best wishes to all of you. - NARA