Today, with the dawn of so-called progress, we have devices that temporarily cool us down but raise the temperature outside for all the wrong reasons. , Photo Credit: Getty Images
In today’s world, the topics of daily discussion are climate change, depletion of ozone layer, soil erosion, deforestation etc. But we immediately turn on the air-conditioner to manage these hotly debated topics.
In our growing up years, air-conditioners were a luxury. Today’s kids might argue that we probably turned on our ceiling fans, which were a luxury back then. Then how did we cope with the heat? Oh, you probably drank cold water from the refrigerator! Another luxury device!
A single table fan for the family in the living room, an earthen pot to keep the water slightly cool, wet cloth wrapped around steel containers to keep the water cool and to create air flow There were small handheld fans for. Some simple solutions employed then. Elderly and children engaged in physical activities and complained of heat, but these simple steps brought some relief.
slept on the roof
In the evening, we used to pour water on the terrace, so that the terrace would cool down and bring some relief inside. During the night, some people slept on the terrace, spread straw mats and rested under the open sky. Those who were not so lucky retired within the four walls under the terrace. When many people lay down like an assembly line to fall asleep after some gossip at the end of the day, a vibrating table fan was the only solution.
Summers passed in the evening, when evening visitors were offered fresh fruit juices made from water stored in earthen pots. We consumed vegetables and fruits which kept our body cool both in raw and cooked form. A trip to the local ice cream parlor to get ice cream in cups and consuming them to satisfy the end-of-the-day craving helped cool down the body.
Today, with the dawn of so-called progress, we have devices that temporarily cool us down but raise the temperature outside for all the wrong reasons. Due to the construction of more concrete buildings reflecting more sunlight and many other contributing factors, summer scorching is intense!
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