Season of nostalgia

Autumn has a melancholic feel about it. Especially the long evenings. Twilight fading away brings with it a strange kind of sadness and nostalgia. You almost unconsciously begin to think about days gone by, lost friends, forgotten experiences...

Maybe it has something to do with the weather and changes in nature. The crisp slightly chilly wind blowing around, the long, starry nights, the stillness when fans stop whirring, and the heaps of dried leaves on the ground, all come together to create nostalgia and melancholy.

How can one forget Keats' memorable lines in his "Ode to Autumn"? I quote:

"

Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find
Thee sitting careless on a granary floor,
Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;	15
Or on a half-reap'd furrow sound asleep,"

Yes, there is a strange languidness associated with this season.... A desire to lie back and watch as nature changes hues, seems overpowering. 

In India, autumn ushers in the season of celebration, with Navratri, Durga Puja and Diwali and Kali Puja. The whiff of "shiuli" flowers fill the air. "Kaash" flowers, abundantly found on the soils of Bengal, sway in the breeze. The air becomes heavier in the evenings, so that when lamps are lit on Diwali, they look like stars twinkling on the ground.

But despite all the joy and gaiety, somewhere a feeling of sadness remains. As if nature is reminding us that another year is drawing to the close, another season is passing by. What have you done with your life? What dreams have passed you by, what have you lost in your race for living?