THREE SONGS BROUGHT TO MIND BY TODAY'S GOOD WEATHER

April was a hot, hot month. Temperatures in Delhi were around five degrees above normal. Add pollution to that and you get the depressing picture!

The last day of April was just as bad. The first of May was slightly better but I had a runny nose and felt fatigued and missed my golf date. My usual golf companion said the breeze was cool and he enjoyed his round. And then on 2nd May, I was woken up in the early hours of the morning by flashes of lightning and loud rumblings of thunder. It was pouring heavily and pleasantly surprised, I went back to sleep.

When I finally got up, the weather was beautiful. From 5 degrees above average, it had plunged to seven degrees below normal. The lawn outside our apartment was flooded and it was still raining. An easterly breeze of 15-20 knots made it appear cooler than the actual temperature and kept the pollution levels low. With this spell, the next few days should be cool and there is more rain predicted.

Gone was the fatigue and my runny nose. I was in the mood for a song and what should come to mind but the old song Vinnie Mama taught me way back in early '50s soon after he joined the Navy, "She wore a yellow ribbon". The following lines will make it clear why I remembered this particular song : 

"And in her hair, she wore a yellow ribbon

She wore a yellow ribbon in the merry month of May

Hey, hey, and if you ask, oh why the hell she wore it

She wore it for a sailor who is far, far away."

In this mood, remembering old times, can Shashi Mama be far behind? No, and promptly, I was swaying to his favourite, "Balma ja ja ja, balma ja." Any party or get-together and you would have Shashi Mama singing and dancing and adding to the merry-making with this song.

The third song was a surprise. Quite out of context and on a serious note was Tom Jones' "Delilah". A lot of us would be familiar with this number in which the singer discovers the unfaithfulness of his lover, Delilah, by seeing 'flickering shadow of love on her blind....as she deceived me I watched and went out of my mind.... she stood there laughing, I felt the knife in my hand and she laughed no more. My, my, my Delilah! Why, why, why Delilah?' 

Perhaps the reason for recalling this song is the revival of Agatha Christie in my mind. In the '50s-70s, she was my favourite author of mystery novels featuring either the eccentric but sharp Hercule Poirot or the clever and observant Miss Marple. The other day, I read a news item that BBC is adapting her novel, "Towards Zero", for a TV serial. That put Agatha Christie back into my reading list and I have just finished the brilliant book which features a love triangle. 

Anyway, "Delilah" was one of Tom Jones' extremely popular numbers which we used to sing happily and boisterously in parties, never mind its murderous lyrics! 

May your May be happy and bright!