Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): It is mid-April. The spring has already departed, letting a few twigs, particularly of bougainvillaea and of royal poinciana or flamboyant or Gul Mohur, bloom. The City of Lakes has such trees in abundance to freshen a tired rover. The dry wind of summer is blowing at the window of the city with its sigh and murmurs, knocking down the dry leaves and raising dust from the roads.
The bees buzz around the court of these flowers. The mango flowers have already turned into fruits, and in a few days, they will ripen, and cuckoos have whiffed its fragrance. One can hear them sing at the top of their voice in merriment from thick bushes.
Daytime temperatures have already been above 40 degrees Celsius. Still, the mornings and the evenings are comfortable. The days are lengthening. There is a speciality of summers in Bhopal. A storm or a light rain cools down the temperatures. Such coolness stays for a few days until another heatwave smothers its effects.
This is, however, the best time for morning walkers. They wake up early to enjoy the gentle April breeze. The city has many parks to enjoy that coolness. One of them is Ekant Park near Shahpura Lake.
A pond and lush green forests keep the park cool even when the daytime temperatures go beyond 42 degrees Celsius. The city blessed with natural beauty has many such parks providing relief to a tired rolling stone. One can just visit one such park to enjoy the cooling effects.
City of parks
The City of Lakes, as Bhopal is known, is also a city of parks. Other than Van Vihar, the city has at least ten big and numerous small gardens. The parks the city has are Chinar Park, Kamala Park, Nandan Kanan Park, Kasturba Park, Bhartiniketan Park, Ekant Park, Priyadarshini Park, Shahpura Park, Mayur Park, and Swarn Jayanti Park. Each big colony has a small park.
Each one has its own beauty. So, if Bhopal is the City of Lakes, it is also a city of parks. Walking in any such park in the early morning or in the evening is a lifetime experience. Reading a book, sitting under a tree in any park, may just be an out-of-this-world feeling.
Bhopali Kulfi
Many people avoid visiting Bhopal in summer. But it is still more comfortable than many other Indian cities at this time of the year. The forests, lakes and parks keep it cool. A trip to Bhopal on any summer day is incomplete without a plateful of Kulfi made from frozen milk, sugar, pistachios, and cardamom.
There are many Kulfi outlets, particularly in Old Bhopal. They offer Kulfi with traditional flavours. A piece of Malai Kulfi provides instant relief from extreme heat and fatigue. The others are pistachio-flavoured, mango-flavoured, and rose-flavoured Kulfis. So, without being scared of heat, one can travel to the city and enjoy its cooling effects – at least in the morning and in the evening.
It is also the time to be free from heavy winter clothes. In Bhopal, it is not only the season of the sun, dust and withered leaves, but also the time to spend hours on the banks of the Upper Lake in the evening that lasts till 10 o’clock. One can spend the mornings watching sparrows with their frantic tweets.
When the evening descends step by step, tuberoses (Rajni Gandha), Jesmines (Raat Ki Rani), lilies and other flowers open their buds. Their fragrance blesses a rambler with eternal peace. Then he may remember: “Alas, without me for thousands of years The rose will blossom, and the spring will bloom. But those who have secretly understood my heart – They will approach and visit the grave where I lie.”
