The heat is on!

Every summer especially April and May are really -really hot and sultry and every year we say gosh the summers are getting worse!

In Kolkata especially, the high temperatures coupled with high humidity becomes a lethal combination. With no rain in sight, we are up against some very uncomfortable days!

I was just thinking, if this heat is playing such a havoc in our lives, what is the plight of people who are not as fortunate as us?

In many households there is no AC and no power back up option, SO if there is a power cut, they just have to go through the discomfort.

Also, what about people who have to travel long distances in this heat to get to work ? Or be under the sun for long hours?

Especially, our traffic police staff who have to be on their job, standing in the heat and helping the traffic flow, they just have to face the brutal heat no matter what, they can't say they don't want to work, and what about the people who work on construction sites?

As for my part time maids who help me out with my regular household work, here is what their routine looks like- Get up at 3 am in the morning everyday, complete their housework, and then take a train to come to work. They take over two hours to commute by train. They slog the whole day in perhaps 4-5 households and then go back home in the evening. Many times there are power cuts and they can't sleep at night. But they land up at work the next day without complaining. For them just coming to work is such a  big deal! Heat must be a minor thing.

Here I am sitting in an AC room, typing these words, and instead of being thankful that I am so comfortable, I still complain, Oh! the heat is killing me!

I don't think I can even begin to imagine how tough the lives of most people are! I respect them because they are made of stronger stuff, they face adversity every day, and they take it in their stride. 

But is that enough?

Yes, the "heat is on " and it is not only the weather that I am talking about.