Weather playing truant
What’s going on with the weather in Shillong these days? Last week, we had just experienced some of the hottest days on record in April with the mercury reading going up within touching distance of the 30 degrees Celsius mark and now we have temperatures plummeting down soon after much-needed blessings from the rain gods.
Citizens had just recently washed and neatly tucked their woollens in cupboards and trunks and brought out their cottons and linens. Alas, the efforts were wasted. With the temperatures suddenly going down, the residents had to make efforts to pull out their jumpers and jackets all over again. Such is the weather in Shillong. Always unpredictable and ever ready to drop a surprise on unsuspecting residents!!!
English historian Thomas Fuller had once said: “In fair weather prepare for foul.” It appears as if Fuller’s observation resounds aptly with the current weather pattern in Shillong.
Just last week, in an unprecedented move, schools in some parts of the state were ordered to shut down for three days while in Shillong, all outdoor activities were suspended in view of the heat wave.
And now suddenly, Shillongites are moving around wearing sweaters, jackets, and the likes.
It is time for the residents to do what the prolific American humorist Samuel Langhorne Clemens (better known by his pseudonym Mark Twain) once said he did — count 136 different kinds of weather in 24 hours.