| Sunday, 12 May 2024 |
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Good morning [%first_name |Dear Reader%],
A very cool hello from post-peak summer Bengaluru! I’m glad to announce that the worst April we’ve experienced in four decades is finally behind us.
Here’s a graph that shows the average temperature and humidity in our backyard this year. As you can see, the dip is as stark and real, just like the relentless rise from early January.
This year would be the 30th since I first arrived in Bengaluru in 1994. Sadly, I must also announce that I’ve had to finally succumb and purchase an air conditioner for our son’s room. And boy, what timing. We set his room temperature to 24 degrees at night and he woke up to 24 degrees outside!
But hey, 30 years was a good run without ever owning an AC. I feel strangely proud about it, the way Calvin’s dad would, you know. “It builds character.”
Earlier this week, I came across the question “Why did you come here?” in the Kannada book I’m learning the language from. It felt strangely philosophical and personal.
But it was also interesting because the question in Kannada is, “Niivu eeke illig bandri?” Which if you translate back into English, is “You why come here?”
They say learning a new language rewires your brain, and I couldn’t but help feel the same after thinking about how that question is expressed in the different languages I know (and am learning).
- Kannada: You why here come
- Malayalam: You here why come
- English: Why did you come here
- Hindi: You here why come
Depending on what your dominant language is, the others might look odd. But that’s languages for you. Distinct and beautiful in their own ways.
Summer, even if we’re past its peak in South India (I realize it looms ahead up north), is also about fruits. And wildlife.
Our white water apple tree flowered and fruited profusely. Alas, the lack of any rain combined with the intense heat in April meant that most of the fruits never attained full size, but instead fell off night after night.
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