In today’s world, topics of daily discussion are climate change, depletion of the ozone layer, soil erosion, deforestation and so on. But we instantly switch on the air-conditioner to manage these hotly debated subjects.
Back in our growing-up years, the air-conditioner was a luxury. Today’s children may argue that we probably switched on our ceiling fans, a luxury item then. How did we cope with the heat then? Oh, you probably drank chilled water from refrigerators! Another luxury device!
A solo table fan for the family in the living room, an earthen pot to keep the water slightly cooler, wet cloth wrapped around steel containers again to keep the water cool and small handheld fans to wave back and forth to create a draught of air were some of the simple solutions employed then. The elders and children were engaged in physical activities and complained of the heat, but these simple steps offered some succour.
Asleep on the terrace
In the evenings, we poured water on the terrace, so that the ceiling would cool down to offer some respite inside. During night, some would sleep on the terrace, spreading a straw mat and relaxing under the open skies. The ones not so lucky retired within the four walls under the ceiling. An oscillating table fan was the only solution when several people lay down, like in an assembly line, to fall asleep after some gossip at the end of a day.
Summer passed with evening visitors who were offered fresh fruit juices made from water stored in the earthen pots. We consumed vegetables and fruits that kept our bodies cool, both in raw and cooked forms. A trip to the local ice cream parlour to fetch ice cream in cups and consume them to satiate the end-of-the-day cravings helped cool the bodies.
Today, with the onset of so-called advancement, we have appliances which temporarily cool us down but raise the temperatures outside for all the wrong reasons. With construction of more concrete buildings reflecting more sunlight and a host of other contributing factors, summer onslaught is intense!
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