winter is over

Winter is officially over. The lowest temperature last week was -9 ºF (-23 ºC); this week, it's going to be in the forties and fifties (4-10 ish ºC) throughout, and the general feeling is that winter is officially over. The snow is melting (disappearing, really), animals and insects are coming out of hibernation, and the sunlight feels more magnified than before. It's all a bit wistful, since my tendency in cold weather is to be constantly elated, contrary to most people. The cold makes me feel alive, whereas warm and sunny weather reminds me of those fading brown photographs from bygone times.

When I lived in India, returning to the US seemed a dream that would never come true, as I was telling someone with whom I have reconnected after a brief and inexplicable period of silence; now that I am here, it is my life in India that seems dreamlike and unreal. The occasional smell of sun-heated air or some kinds of soap brings back so many memories all at once of things that I thought I had forgotten: of being outdoors in a certain time of the year, playing basketball; of a random instance of climbing the stairs on a summer afternoon; of my first days at college. I think the sense of smell somehow evokes a more powerful nostalgia than sights or sounds. It's more physical, more visceral - and quite marvelous.

I'm going to miss this place after I graduate. I probably won't get around to writing a lengthy blog entry to commemorate graduation and pay tribute to my time at this excellent school, so this will have to do. There was a time some two years ago when it felt as if college life were passing me by faster than I would have liked; now when I look back, it isn't so difficult to believe that it's been four years. So much has happened since my first day here - so much has changed. My views on... many, many things are completely different from what they used to be, my skills at the piano are less amateurish (though still, it must be conceded, amateurish), and I have learnt so much. What's next? It looks like I shall be going to grad school after all, my earlier misgivings notwithstanding, though I shall refrain from saying more until certain things are known for certain.

I heard from certain sources that the Ship from that grand old school of mine has been diagnosed with cancer. I don't know what kind or how severe it is. It is awfully tragic, and only throws into relief how long it's been since I left that place. It feels like only a few years have passed, but it's very nearly been a generation - at least as far as the student body is concerned. A couple more years, and not one student at that school would have been there during my time. On a happier note, I found my math teacher from Kalpa on Facebook today. She is now the principal of a school somewhere, which is quite gratifying.