Come May and the sizzling, searing song of summers is back with a vengeance. Oppressed for long, at the hands of the frosty winters and the sprightful spring, the summer sun glows, simmers and boils with anger trying to reclaim its lost pride and glory. Like the violent Shiva performing his Tandava, the blistering fireball enjoys this game of destruction and celebrates its emancipation & liberation, after spending months in exile. As a bitter & sweltering revenge it dances endlessly on the horizon and engulfs the nights thus making them shorter with every passing day. Under its fume and fury water loses its form and surrenders and finally vanishes away as a guileless vapour. The grandeur of greenery too wilts away until acres and acres of parched carpets of soil have wiped out the smallest trace of life. However merciless and unforgiving in its demeanour, the summer sun teaches all to survive.  While the animals instinctively burrow deep inside the womb of the earth and curl under its cool, moist confines or simply immerse themselves in water puddles to escape the heat, some intelligent plants horde water in the tiny, invisible wells on their leaves in anticipation of the summer scarcity. We humans, being smarter of the lot, too, have learnt to beat the heat in more ways than one! Summers may be synonymous with sweat, heat, angst and rage but they are incomplete without the cool of the air conditioner or a desert cooler that soothes the skin once the scalding sunlight has snatched away the moisture. Not to forget the supremely sumptuous shakes and sundaes. You name it and we savour it! Chikoo, Mango, bananas…oooh la..la! With every gulp of the fruit chunks laced with creamy milk and ice, the pulsating summer dance sobers down! The atrocities inflicted upon us by the red-hot roasting sun are further countered by biting into the cool-red belly of juicy watermelons that instantly bring the mercury down.  We gawk and mock at the arrogant sun by chilling out in cool cotton fabrics, flaunting sun-shades and colourful umbrellas that allow us to roam around as free birds. Finally, when all else fails, we take refuge in the afternoon snooze, snore and siesta -Our smart answer to the summer’s sweltering revenge!