The spirit of spring

And Spring arose on the garden fair,Like the Spirit of Love felt everywhere;And each flower and herb on Earth's dark breastrose from the dreams of its wintry rest.~Percy Bysshe Shelley.
A sporadic showers and the colour has changed this week. It may still be windy, but it carries the moist earthy smell of regeneration. It is no more dusty and dry.
The spring of the year is a favourite season for many people, and it is certainly easy to understand why this is so. Spring is when the earth comes back to life after a long cold dry winter, and it is in the spring when the first flowers begin to bloom and the green world begins to return after its winter slumber.
The power of spring and its regenerative effects are evidenced by the fact that every major religion includes a major holiday in the spring season. It is easy to understand how in times past ancient cultures were overjoyed by the power of spring and the beauty of new life.
It is also the time when farmers begin the year with the preparation of land for cultivation. Losar may be the last celebration before they turn to the land and wait for the rains to soften the sod. Where irrigation is not available, farmers wait for the spring rain to start their sowing.
When rains don’t come, we turn to religion. People take out religious texts and go around the village chanting prayers. Invariably, it works. Accept it or not, faith works.
You may believe it or not, but some time last week, the Hindu community in Tala organised a marriage of the frogs to the accompaniment of traditional music and the chanting of vedic hymns to appease the water and rain deities. And there was a rainfall after the ceremony reportedly. Thimphu also witnessed a few showers that settled the dust and cooled the air.
For the gardener, the spring is one of the most pleasant times in the garden. The spring is the time when the bulbs that were carefully planted in the fall begin to grow and blossom, and the spring is when the first seedlings are carefully nestled in the garden. There is no doubt that the spring is one of the most beautiful, and most colourful, of all seasons for the gardener.
The farmer’s face lights up with happiness when he surveys his orchard in a riot of colours. It is also the time when he has to sleep out in the field guarding his potato crop against the wild boars.