THE SUMMER IS HERE

The summer is here for at least six to eight more months; during the schedules of electricity shutdowns and hot air, the day long, we often forget the cool breeze of winter, the festivity of spring, and the falling leaves of autumn. Our top priorities are to check the water level of our batteries for the UPS so that we can survive the long, hot, and sunny days of summer.  There are some remedies to control the severity of the season, and people manage it in their own ways. A good thing to lighten the effect of hot weather is watermelon; people love to eat more and more watermelons to keep their minds cool. Oops! What have I done? I reveal the secret to the survival of a common man in the hot summer. This is the cheapest fruit until the time that it is away from officials’ sight. I think they do not know the benefit of this fruit; otherwise, it will surely be levied with a lot of taxes and sent

beyond the reach of poor people.

Summer is a season when we are all desperately waiting for all kinds of mangoes.  The wait is necessary as they are well ripe in the middle of summer; otherwise, one has to enjoy stored or artificially prepared mangoes. Anwar Ratore, Sindhary, and Chaunsa are my favorites. During summer, women are also attracted to new collections of lawn print. They are being invited to stores with the magnetism of sales and price reductions. But this is not enough; heat strokes grab all the festivity, and people cannot survive without a variety of cold drinks. During the last few years, the temperature has been increasing in most parts of our country, especially in Karachi. The people of Karachi have never faced such hot and humid weather before; that is why they were not familiar with the ways to handle it and the precautions. They lost so many dear ones.

We enjoy a range of shakes and smoothies this season. But here I want to mention some of the traditional drinks that people often use in their daily routine to avoid heat stroke. These are all prepared with simple ingredients and are useful to all who live in hot areas around the world.

Lassi is a tradition to break the strictness of hot weather. It is a shake of yogurt with a lot of water. Sometimes the ratio of water is 10 times that of yogurt. Why is it so? The logic behind it, as the elders told, is its cooling effect. Drink it with sugar or a pinch of salt, or plain; it tastes great and good in hot summer. We can rank it in the first position, and it deserves to be.

Sikanjbeen is a combination of lemon juice and water; it can also be drunk as required: sweet, salty, or plain. One lemon is quite enough for one glass, sugar according to your diabetes level, and salt up to your blood pressure level. Do not drink it from any roadside stall, because they just mix flavors of lemon and sugar, and you will find no purity in them. Also, there is a threat to hygiene.

Kachchi Lassi is also very good in hot summer. It is prepared with milk and water, and the ratio is not defined; it is all up to you. Normally, 1/8 glass of milk and the remaining water with a pinch of salt is the best.

The pulp of dried and soaked plum and tamarind, both mixed with water and sugar, is great in taste and also

well known to resist hot weather.

Sugar cane juice is the only thing that we cannot prepare at our home as it requires some heavy machinery. No worries, we have to compromise and drink it outside. People often love to add mint, lemon, ginger, and salt to enhance their taste. The use of said items is also good for the stomach. A few years back, people liked to purchase sugarcane. They peel and slice it and chew the small slices for juice. It is now rare but still intact in remote areas.  It is a good way to get its juice and also a good exercise for teeth, gums, and mouth.

Jaggery juice is also very popular on its own as well. It is also mixed with a lot of things like lemon, Tukham Malanga (some kind of black tiny seeds that become sticky after being soaked), barley husk (known as Sattu), etc. It is a very refreshing cold drink.

These are some of the drinks; there are still many, like milk with almonds, red syrup (Jam e Shirin and Rooh Afza), etc.

Normally, these drinks contain sugar in all of them, but they can still be modified as required. Besides these drinks, we should cover our heads and shoulders to avoid excess heat. One should also take care while walking under the open sky; try to walk in shady areas. Trees provide the best shade, and once there were a lot in our cities, but now they are rare. We should motivate ourselves to grow more and more plants in our houses, no matter how many places we have. They can be grown even in pots, but their effect is long-lasting.

Well, hoping for some additions to this list from the viewers’ side, and I am waiting for sweet, tasty, pulpy, fragrant, and ripe mangoes; that is the only good thing in hot summer.

Best regard.