APRIL 



The breeze moves slow with thick perfume 



From every mango grove ; 

 From coral tree to parrot bloom 



The black bees questing rove, 

 The koil wakes the early dawn. 



WATERFIELD, Indian Ballads. 



THE fifteenth of April marks the beginning of 

 the " official " hot weather in the United 

 Provinces ; but the elements decline to con- 

 form to the rules of man. In the eastern and 

 southern districts hot-weather conditions are 

 established long before mid-April, while in the 

 sub-Himalayan belt the temperature remains 

 sufficiently low throughout the month to 

 permit human beings to derive some physical 

 enjoyment from existence. In that favoured 

 tract the nights are usually clear and cool, so 

 that it is very pleasant to sleep outside beneath 

 the starry canopy of the heavens. 



It requires an optimist to say good things 

 of April days, even in the sub-Himalayan tract. 



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