The Morning Sits Idle Gazing Over…….

?????????????????????????????????? ????????? By

?????????????????????????????????????????????Harold Gurindapalli

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??????????? The clock nearly ticks over to 7:47 a.m. on an autumn morning in one of the significant Deccan plateaus of India. The breeze gently taps now and then. A shopkeeper at the corner lunges upwards to open the shutter. His face is as insignificant as the routine itself. A few pigeons scramble up and down with rhythmic flight. A group of morning walkers homeward trudge with occasional bursts of laughter that may wake slumbering neighbors. Even a lone crow at the top of an iron post seems to ring in the ears of those drowsed in bed with its crowing alarm. The mason beats the monotonous routine by listening to songs on a mobile. A host of house sparrows descends in a scurry for yet another quick peck. Though a rare sight in Hyderabad, they inherit crevices or roofs of buildings as one of the proud owners. ?School buses seldom wheel past lanes that are mostly devoid of speed bumps. The chirping of Indian robin and myna bring harmony from time to time while the red vented bulbul?whistles to alert dreary netizens. It's another lazy morning with the sun clutching behind a partially overcast sky.?

???????? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?The autumn flowers of tangedu paint the streets with yellow with its pristine bloom are in fine contrast with the trumpet shaped red pomegranates. The White flowers of chandni spread across bushy plants only to be plucked by the devotees to offer daily rituals: these flowers bring morning tranquility as passersby gaze at them. Some fall on the cars lined up majestically in front of a row of gated flats as if VVIPs were paying a visit to the neighborhood but the stark reality is that they lack parking lots: a bleak reminder of a dense modern city wrestling for space. On the other hand, the rhythmic sweeping and spraying in front of houses or box houses add to the sunrise chorus. A handful of laymen with newspapers jostled at a tea stall over a stimulating sip of hot drink that eventually kick starts their day. Vegetable vendors trespass the rims of the roads of city centers to trade for meager profits in order to make a living though at times have to pay a price to the traffic policeman for breaking the law. Despite the negligible loss and stoic resistance, they enliven the vicinity with the hustle and bustle that resembles a mini-mart. A small garage sits behind a busy up street with some old vehicles waiting to be scrapped anytime but the verdict seems to be like so near yet so far. Perhaps the owner has other intentions to resurrect them using artificial intelligence. A solitary dove perched on a branch of a neem tree beside the garage though pensive for a while is mindful of the rumbling digital world. The general public rushes to catch a bus for yet another day’s work. Thus life goes on and on in Hyderabad, one of the eventful cities of Telangana, the youngest state of India.

??????? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ??As the morning moves, the sun comes out of hiding to rise and shine. ?The intensity of sights and sounds swell: Hawkers trumpet, vehicles honk, school children scuff their shoes with burdened faces, and many such as far as the eye could see. The momentum picks up as the city dwellers make provisions for a day’s toil until twilight.

?Tags: lazy morning, autumn flowers, routine, neighborhood, digital world, sights and sounds, Hyderabad, day’s toil, city dwellers.

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