What is in the air??

And I wonder what is in the air. One may think why I am asking this question! When I feel the approaching festivity in the air, I wonder, what is in the air!!

It was 24th December this year, the day before Christmas. After waking up, while getting ready for work, my mood was a mixture of happy and brooding. Happy as it will be Christmas Eve, and Christmas the next day, holidays, time for festivity, good food, and nice time with everyone. And brooding because I had to go to work, and the weather forecast was for rain, and the nice snow from previous week had already melted.

But when I came out of the house to go to work, my gray mood was completely gone. I smelled the crisp air, and felt the chill in it, and wondered myself, “what is in the air”!!

Before the Durga Puja in Bengal, the day of Mahalaya marks the beginning of the festivity. And each year, on this particular morning, when I stand under the sky, the soft warmth of the sun and the fresh smell in the air reminds me that it is the beginning of the festivity. And now, kilometers away from Bengal, and for some other festival, the Christmas, I felt the same thing in the air.

It is interesting as Kolkata and Ljubljana are two completely different cities, with no similarity in climatic conditions. Moreover Durga Puja is a festival of autumn, and Christmas is in winter. Normally I wouldn’t expect a winter morning in Ljubljana to be same as one autumn morning in Kolkata. But it was exactly the same, announcing the festivity.

I felt the festivity in the air. It was crisp chilly. The sun was soft; and though not warm in temperature, the light was warm. I could smell the air, and the smell of nature. I smelt the dewdrops and the wet earth, the grass. I heard the happy chirping of the birds. I saw the sunrays visible in the mist. I saw the floating clouds, and the blue window of the sky peeping behind the clouds. I stopped for a moment and closed my eyes, to feel the air, to feel the nature. I took a deep breath and felt the happiness. I let the happiness seep deep inside me.

And once again I realized, whatever festival it is, wherever on the earth it is, it brings the same air.. And I wonder.. “What is in the air”….