Colours of Autumn
“Autumn is a second spring, where every leaf is a flower”-Albert Camus.
I went to pick up my three year old grand daughter from her play school in Islamabad. Walking out of the gate with lunch box in her hand and a golden autumn leaf tucked in her paper cap, she looked like a cute little spring flower. The Montessori teacher had enlightened the play group about the autumn season which is ever so beautiful in the scenic Pakistani capital.
Autumn and spring are inter linked. P.B.Shelley famous quote “O’ if winter comes, can spring be far behind”, describes the changing seasons very aptly. The onset of autumn makes us look forward to spring, the Nature’s poetry, and we start waiting for it anxiously. Talking about autumn, it is not possible to keep quiet about other seasons. Another writer describes the four seasons as; ‘winter is an etching, spring a water colour, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all’. They are all inter related like day and night, hot and cold, soft and hard and so on.
“Happiness is a journey and not a destination, so is autumn.”
Autumn is all about leaves and their changing colours. The leaves change their colour from green to gold to beautiful bronze. These flaming colours paint the valleys in myriad of shades, unfolding the mysteries of Nature. Trees seem to be on fire and this spectacular display of fall colours, in swaths of deep brown and gold, presents a captivating sight, giving a blanket of beauty to the parks and mountain areas. When autumn paints its way, even an individual leaf can be beautiful. The brilliance of the autumn foliage is such that even the colour blind can enjoy the change.
“Sweet and smiling are your ways. Beauteous, gold autumn days”
Autumn is a mellow time when the leaves fall and the perennials are gone. Mother Earth has just closed up the drapes on another year and it is time to reflect what has come before. We can feel the bone structure of the landscape. In America autumn is known as fall because the trees shed their leaves that come fluttering down to the ground in great numbers, making a thick carpet. These falling leaves hide the trails quietly, rustling only when some one walks over them. The bare boughs add to the autumn glory.
Poets and writers have varied approach to this season. Those from the East associate it with melancholy, sadness and terminal old age, while the western writers, albeit few exceptions generally enjoy it as they would enjoy the spring season. They revere it as a Divine lesson, teaching us about the ups and downs of life, and call it the azure sister of spring. ‘Every leaf speaks bliss to me’ says an English poet. The oriental writers view it as the end of life.
The fall is short but spectacular. The trees turn gloriously golden and next week they may be shedding their leaves. It is a source of extraordinary magnificence; beauty and inspiration that makes us look forward to the looming spring. Happiness is a journey and not a destination, so is autumn. Autumn days are clean and sunny, the nights cool and crisp, providing an irresistible lure to those who enjoy outdoors.
Autumn is a season of mists and mellow fruitfulness when every one must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn brown before they come down swirling, joining the river of leaves on the garden trails. It is the time to enjoy the solitude and take lessons from Mother Nature to get prepared for the lows of life and the ways to face them boldly. Autumn passes and one remembers it with reverence. While spring is Nature’s way of saying ‘lets party’, autumn is the year’s last loveliest smile.
The writer is a practicing dental surgeon and can be reached at: dsq006@gmail.com
Written by Dr. Shahid Qayyum
Published by Alisha Khuram
