” Hair gets lighter,
Skin gets darker,
Water gets warmer,
Drinks get colder,
Music gets louder,
Night gets longer,
LIFE gets better,
It’s all about summer..”
It’s extremely hot. Especially this summer that I am back to the capital, from my 2 year of exile..( yeah ! I was away to Kolkata, it is hot and humid too, but not like Delhi) It feels like, we all are inside an invisible oven.
“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.”
—F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
I am excited about Summers. OKAY! You must be wondering, what is so great about it. Well let me tell ya fella, SUMMER is FUN. No schools, no exams, no shopping flee on boxing day, as there is so much of crowd in the malls that you can hardly see the stores you want to visit, no eating out ( or, rather, let me be specific : junkies i meant), no obsession with working out as we all hate sweats. Where there is a trail of so many NO’s then what’s the fun?
“It was June, and the world smelled of roses. The sunshine was like powdered gold over the grassy hillside.”
―Maud Hart Lovelace, Betsy-Tacy and Tib
So, here my list begins, and hey! Come on, start loving Summers!
All those awesome fruits and veggies : The king of all the fruits. The juicy, stone fruit I mean, Mangoes it is. Mangoes taste so good, that people forget it’s healthy too. It alkalizes our body, clears our skin, improves eye health, lowers cholesterol, prevents many kind of cancers, and it’s YUMMY. Peaches, berries, melons, Summer is a season for sweet and savory salads and thankfully variety is everywhere.
Drinks with umbrellas : The feel of instant vacation is evident when an exotic mini umbrella sheds your ice-cold mock tail/cocktails. Add a maraschino cherry or a slice of pineapple and you are practically in the tropics.
Beaches, Lakes and other water bodies : Submerging your body entirely in water to the point of weightlessness, feels therapeutic. Hit the beach, swim into the nearest channel, or just dive into your pool. The objective is met, to beat the heat!
Cotton and linens : These are breathable fabrics and a must wears in summers. Pulling out your cotton tees, linen dresses and madras shorts which will give you instant relief summers.
Longer Days : With all the sports, pool time, vacations staycations and get-together’s that we plan, don’t we really cherish the lengthy day light. It’s almost like the weather is making up for forcing us indoors all winters.
Ice-cream : I am sure you can gulp buckets of gelato’s during any month of the year. But summers get even better with these exotic sorbet, frozen yoghurts, ice milk, sherbet… and the list continues for all the things COLD!
Travel : Schools are having month long summer break, and how long will you engage your kids with those summer camps which are especially designed to keep them busy, and that’s all about it. I never saw my girl learning anything than just few sketches, handicrafts, paintings, vase making.. and our kids never do anything of these stuff. So, what’s the learning here?? Plan a short trip near by, if not a fulfilled vacation. Whether it’s hiking in the hills, camping in the forest, or a road trip, and yes. This is the best time of the year for a road trip.
Meet ups : Unplug and go meet your real life friends. It’s very tempting to put on the a.c and lazy around into the slumbers of summer afternoon. But before you get a heck of it every afternoon, just plan a nice noon brunch with the people you enjoy being with. You are going to enjoy it completely and of course it’s not just going to keep you busy till the noon. Brunch with your favorite people will extend till late.
So, since the weather is warm, pools are open and fruity drinks are flying. Make this summer fun, exciting and different. Visit the Mezze and Cocktail festivals in your city. Appreciate the art of Mixology and get drunk.
For my Delhi/NCR friends bar-bar is the list of some really happening bars those of which you can pay a visit to, this summers’.
