Beautiful Nights

I was always fascinated by nights but it was the hostel life that made me a real night person. So now I live by the principle “Problems starts with the day and end at night”. This love of nights also gave me three hobbies. It made me a fan of reading, dreaming and sleeping in the class the next day. It also made me a part of many thought provoking discussions at school and college hostels.

It is the beautiful sound of the night that interested me in school and home. The crocking of the frogs, the chirping of cricket, the cicada songs, fluttering of bats having a busy night, the sound of bugs that hit the widow panes like missiles directed by the light inside the room, the friendly neighborhood cat chasing rats, street dogs on night patrol etc. The entire feel gets better with monsoon. The frogs get more active. The rain and occasional thunder adds to the orchestra. The drizzle gives a small humming sound and the thunderstorm overpowers all other sounds. The heavy downpour with thunder also gives a feeling of happiness mixed with fear and respect. Water dripping into the small puddles as the rain stops gives a clinging sound. Then the inevitable power cut happens. Mostly due to some tree that has fallen on the power lines. The sound of night seems amplified as the fan stops working. There is the occasional humming of mosquitoes as they get into action. We can hear people twisting and turning restlessly in sleep.

Night time in Bangalore has a very different feel. The nights are more silent. Only things I can hear is my flat mate snoring or an occasional sound of a car or bike zooming past or some neighbour playing the TV loud. It used to be different at school and is different at home. The second best part of staying up late is to sit lazily reading a book, often reading between the lines and dreaming.

But the best part comes next day morning. The best part of staying late is to get up late in the morning and realize that I am the last to start working.