It is 4 am in the morning. I am up t – sitting out in the balcony on the fifth floor. In every trip this has been dad and my quiet time. We would sit quietly here and watch the dawn break over numerous cups of tea without a word spoken. This trip, however, he has not been able to get up in the morning even once. His blood level has dropped down to somewhere near 7 and he has been tired and sleeping a lot. On the other hand, when he is awake, he has been in a jollier and more positive frame of mind.

The skies are still dark with a faint hint of blue all around. The glow from the distant city lights in the horizon are visible through the silhouettes of the trees gently waving in the ever so slight breeze. A few streetlights rudely interrupt the prevailing blanket of darkness. And in that interrupted lights, lay a few dogs sleeping peacefully – getting ready for another day filled with random chases anreven more randomly getting chased. Couple of cows lay idly chewing the cud.

The birds, however, are in full throated melody all over. Many a bird are waking themselves up with their characteristic mellifluous notes. The most notable is a pair of cuckoos cooing in tandem with the ever increasing pitch of theirs. The crows, not to be outdone is throwing in their lot too with their harsh crows. No bird has yet gotten out of their nests or trees yet.

The roads are taking in a wholly deserved night of rest before getting trampled on by those innumerable cars and scooters flying, those incessant hawkers peddling and nerve wracking horns blaring. And the early trains have not started either.
The breeze has picked up. So much so the better. The air has been thick with near cent per cent humidity after a full day of torrential rain. The breeze seems to be trying to push back on that humidity as it gently soothes the skin with an envelope of coolness.

***

As I write this, the dawn break is in full flow. The skies are distinct blue – now devoid of all the heavy clouds of yesterday. The birds have become more bold and more sonorous. Some of the curious dogs are up and about and making their presence felt with the occasional barks. The first few birds have stepped out from their trees too.

In the breaking light you can see the buildings and trees more distinctly. They look like they have just stepped out from a fresh shower. The colors are becoming visible steadily. The sharp edges of modern civilization is starting to pierce through that quiet, tranquil beauty of nature though. You can hear the first train of the day tooting in the distance warning of its first departure to get the hustle and bustle of the day started. The first “toto” (auto rickshaw) is now visible sleepily meandering thru the streets.

The first few morning walkers are out. As are those picking flowers in the morning. The walkers are walking at a furtive pace with a certain air of purposefulness. The flower pickers seem to move from tree to tree at a slower pace befitting the rest of the morning calm.

***

Dad is still sleeping still. I am going to get myself another cup of tea, and watch the rest of the morning.