A morning at the terrace

“What makes you truly happy?”

Somebody posed this question to me once. It’s a question we should all have an answer to, a Happy Place where life seems a little easier. Eventually I decided on this: “The smell of earth after the first showers… and watching the sunrise from the terrace.” Well, there are months for the rains to arrive, but the sun comes out every day!

I love my mornings on the terrace. Since the sun peeps out at five o’ clock in this part of the world; it’s like putting aside an extra hour just for yourself, that would otherwise have slipped by under the blanket cover. And so I traipse up two flights of stairs to greet the dawn. The air is chilly, the silence so stark you can hear your heart’s whisper. Some sounds come alive at the crack of dawn; crickets chirping, a hundred different bird songs. The birds are always there… mynahs, sparrows, pigeons and parakeets. On lucky days, you can spot leaf-birds and blue kingfishers in the trees.

The enchantment starts from the moment the night sky pales. You wait, and just as the chill seeps into your bones, the first rays of dawn spray over the horizon, spreading a tingling of warmth through your blood. Before your unsuspecting eyes, the grey pallor of the night sky melts away into an azure blue. The sun jostles through the clouds in a subdued shade of crimson. The chirping starts, first timidly, then louder; till it’s a cacophony of sounds. A new day has arrived.

You can see the lake from up here, it’s still waters reflecting the morning’s calm. Of course, the lake looks prettiest when the sun dips into the waters. It’s a sight so beautiful that it can take your breath away. But I’ll leave the sunset for another day. Today, let’s celebrate the morning. A time to mull over the day ahead; a time to ponder over the purpose of life. Because you’ve just been given another day to do something glorious, something so satisfying it could be worth all your yesteryears put together.

The magical moment of dawn break is over. The sun is astride and getting in my eyes, in fact it’s so hot that drops of sweat have begun to trickle down my forehead. Too soon a journey from the bliss of dawn to the fierce sunlight telling you, “Off to work!” Like my childhood days that are now up, leaving only the glare of youth upon me, urging me to do my part, before my sunrises are up and gone forever…