An early morning stroll

The crackle of dawn - something I dont get to see often in life as I am a late to bed, late to rise person and I loooooove to sleep. But on the rare occasions that I have, I have thoroughly enjoyed it. Now my scenario here is my hometown so it would be quite different from the situation in a cosmopolitan city where most of you would be living now in which ever part of the world, just like me.

One of the instances when I was awake to witness this spectacular part of the day was, during my school days when I woke up on the mornings of some exams (not all). My bedroom was on the upper floor of our house and so when I am up and about and ready to sit to read, but still a bit drowsy and upset about getting out of bed, I first used to go to the terrace to gulp down some fresh air. The misty morning's breeze would instantly refresh me and I would be wide awake. I never needed any complan or boost to stimulate me after those few minutes of uninterrupted, absolutely delightful rendezvous with mother nature. The days that I was up very early and its still dark, I would look up to the sky - the constellations, the moon, the planets - the ones that can be seen vaguely, Mars and one other, I dont remember which ones now. On some days, appa used to get out of bed and join me on my ponderings over the universe and the galaxy, some intimate moments with my appa which I cherish to this day. When its twilight, I used to take my book to the terrace and read walking back and forth and to this date I have never come across an atmosphere which helped me concentrate better than that one. When I needed a break I would just gaze at the nature around me, the sky gaining its colour as daylight floods in, the planes and jets flying far above, some of them leaving a trail behind, the trees, the chirping birds, the squirrels and the chameleons on them, the dew drops on the saplings and leaves of the plants in my garden( I had my own garden there, groomed and maintained by me). I especially enjoyed the mornings of my last exams, subconciously anticipating the term holidays, visualizing all my holiday plans.

Another instance where I got to enjoy early mornings was during some of my holidays when amma would come up with a strict weight reduction programme to get her chubby girl toned down ( yes I used to be chubby as a kid and during my early teens). We would set out after day break and go for a walk around our calm and serene neighbourhood. The cool breeze touching your face gives you a feeling of exhilaration that cannot be described enough. As you pass by, you come across the milk man, the paper boy (people whose faces I dont get to see often), you notice the early morning routines of various house holds, the most common sight being the women folk doing kolam on their door ways and living in a town like ours, you get waves from all the sleepy heads just out of bed from their door ways and windows. Amma and me would be quick to pass by without stopping or else it would be the end to that day's walk and you would be forced to get yourself engaged in conversation sometimes with a cup of coffee and occasionally even invitations for breakfast!

The other favourite early morning activity of mine is going to the temple. The fresh feeling after an early shower and a drive or walk to a temple is incomparable. I always have felt that the purest possible form of myself that I can present before god is when I go in the early mornings, nice and fresh. My pick would be kumara kovil or melangodu because both the temples are located around foot hills in locales where the temples blend with the natural scenery around them. When I come out of those temples, I smell of the sandhanam, kungumam and vibudhi all over and that smell when combined with my fresh smelling skin and clean and slightly moist hair, along with the refreshing morning air, is ever so pleasant and divine!