An escape from the scorching Sun…

The rich and resourceful people maintain two establishments: one in the mountains and the other in the plains. Come summer and they pack their bags and go off to their resorts. For those who are left behind, we offer a few less expensive ‘solutions’. This post contains a few suggestions, which have been tried and tested. We invite you to give us your ideas to add to the list, so that we may save ourselves from the wrath of the burning Sun.

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Number 1. A Splash Pool

Animals run to the nearest water body to cool themselves. Human beings go to swimming pools, but most of them are located far from our houses and quite often, they are over-crowded. And then, there is the risk of contracting infections. A personal pool is a luxury which very few of us can afford. A cheaper alternative is to build a splash pool, in your own backyard. Many years ago, I saw a diamond shaped pool in a house, which looked like what you see in the picture given below.

A diamond shaped pool about 10 feet by 6 feet dug into the ground

The ‘splash pool which I constructed in my house is a little smaller than this. It is 9 feet by 5.5 feet and is about 2.75 feet deep. It is above the ground, for reasons that are not far to seek. Here is what it looks like.

 

I fill it up to whatever level I like. It is large enough for two persons to ‘splash’ around at a time. I have devised several ‘strokes’ and at the end of an hour I come out cool and exercised.

 

The ‘pool’ has an inlet which you see in my right hand. By opening this, one can fill water.

 

The other tap is at the bottom of the ‘pool’ By opening this, water can be drained out and used for irrigating our plants. So not even a drop is wasted. Here you see our help-maid opening the drain tap.

 

At the end of the session, the ‘pool’ is covered with a bamboo chick, so that nothing falls into the water. A single filling remains fresh enough for about a week. All in all, the arrangement is a reasonably good substitute for a swimming pool

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Number 2. Bamboo Chicks

Bamboo chicks have been used to cool houses since several centuries. When air conditioners came, we seem to have forgotten their worth. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that their quality has improved, and the present ones are a lot more effective. Here I show you just one, which I have installed in my study room window.

 

Thanks to the insulation provided by the chick, my study room is effectively air conditioned by a 0.7 ton voltas air conditioner.

 

When you roll up the chick you see the other side. It has an effective lining beneath for greater insulation.

 

This is a view of the ‘study. Notice that the keyboard is kept covered, when not in use. It extends its life, and does not need to be dusted

 

If you switch off the lights, all you see is the LEDs of the UPS and indicators. The insulation provided by the bamboo chick is extremely effective.

 

And if you switch off all the indicator lights, it is pitch-dark. The insulation ensures that no heat enters my study room. We have made a similar protection system in the bedroom.

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Number 3 : Energy Conservation and Rooftop Devices

In the olden days, the elders in the family used to go around switching off lights and fans. We were chided for being negligent. Today, lighting load has dropped to a negligible level. If you switch over to LED lamps, a 10 watt light can produce enough luminosity for a room. The power is now guzzled by air-conditioners and geysers. Come summer, and power cuts begin. You can contribute your two-penny worth to the society by installing roof-top solar heaters and ‘photo-voltaic’ panels to generate electricity. Let me remind you that such systems absorb heat and make the house cooler. Given below are pictures of the systems installed in our humble abode.

This picture shows the solar water heater on the left and the power panels on the right

 

Our Degree course ‘gold medallist’ Gen Batra is seen with the solar water heater

 

And in this ‘Bravo’ Batra has climbed the ladder to the PV cell panels

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Number 4 : Be kind to your potted plants

Plants have life, and they also need to be protected from direct sunlight in the summer. These days, you can get garnish and with it, you can provide shade to them. Here is a picture of how we have done it.

 

This covering may look flimsy, but it is quite effective. It prevents the plants from wilting.

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Number 5 Low cost air conditioning

Necessity, they say, is the mother of invention. We Indians are well known for being ‘jugaadoo’ I have read in the literature that a low cost air conditioner has been rigged up which costs no more than Rs 2000. It works on the principle of air being circulated around a block of ice kept in an ice-box. The device is known as DIY ( do it yourself ) air-conditioner. For more details, please browse through the net. A picture of one such contraption is given below.

 

The effectiveness of this contraption will depend on the efficiency of insulation of the room and of course, it will need a regular supply of ice.

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Number 6. A Spiritual Solution

I have listed this one at the end of my piece, though I think I should have given it a much higher place. When I was taking notes for this piece, I requested Ashwani to come and help me with pictures. He said he could come only early in the morning, because he was playing a cricket match in the afternoon! Cricket…at 2:30 PM in Chandigarh on 28^th May. I was clean bowled!!!

Later during the day, I was reciting the ‘gurbaani’ and I read the ‘bara-maanjh’ (a supplication on the seasons at page 132-134 of the SGGS). In this, the Guru makes a mention of the scorching heat during the month of Aassaarh (which corresponds to May-June) and says that the heat of the scorching sun bothers only those who are not in harmony with the Lord. An extract from the scripture is given below, along with the English translation.

 

aasaarh tapandaa tis lagai har naahu na jinna paas.
The month of Aasaarh seems burning hot, to those who are not close to the Lord.

jagjeevan purakh ti-aag kai maanas sandee aas.
They have forsaken God the Primal Being, the Life of the World, and they have come to rely upon mere mortals.

jayhaa beejai so lunai mathai jo likhi-aas.
As you plant, so shall you harvest; your destiny is recorded on your forehead.

rain vihaanee pachhutaanee uth chalee ga-ee niraas.
The life-night passes away, and in the end, one comes to regret and repent, and then depart with no hope at all.

parabh tuDh bin doojaa ko nahee naanak kee ardaas.
Without You, God, there is no other at all. This is Nanak’s humble prayer.

aasaarh suhandaa tis lagai jis man har charan nivaas.
The month of Aasaarh is pleasant, when the Feet of the Lord abide in the mind!