Travel
Remembering the Colours of Spring
When I returned to Geneva in the third week of March, I was expecting spring to arrive within a week or so because the official date of arrival of spring in Geneva is the last week of March. Blossoming of the forsythia marks the beginning of spring here. Of course, from January onwards, the days start becoming longer too. The worst of the winter is normally over by about early March. As the duration of daylight increases and sunshine becomes more generous, bushes of forsythia prepare themselves to wake up with their bright yellow flowers (before green leaves come out). And the daffodils also start raising their heads from the grounds. But as it happens, this year the weather gods were not very kind, and one had to wait for an extra two weeks to see the first real signs of spring – white and yellow daffodils with their sprightly dance and bushes of forsythia turning yellow. But what a sight it was when they blossomed! In Geneva, the bushes of forsythia can be found in strategic places – at corners of parks, on the side of important road crossings, at the entrance of one's houses and so on. And daffodils can be seen in parks and roadside vacant grounds, reminding one of the famous lines of William Wordsworth: “ten thousand I saw at a glance”.
It may not be an exaggeration to say that in spring, Geneva becomes a city of flowers and gardens. Apart from the “flower clock” which is a well-known icon of Geneva, flowers are grown in a planned manner in beds on the shores of the lake, in parks, at road crossings, in open spaces on road sides, etc. And that's not done only in spots frequented by tourists. Even a small garden like jardin de la paix gets a lot of attention from the city authorities. The residents of Geneva love to grow flowers, not only those who live in apartments, grow flowers in pots and hang them from their balconies.
What is also interesting about spring in Geneva is that it unfolds itself in phases. After the first signs of life provided by the forsythias and the daffodils, there are the pansies and the cherries brightening the skies. The trees also start wearing their green shoots in phases, with some turning green earlier than others. Among the last are the poplars and the oaks.
Spring in Geneva and the surrounding areas cannot be complete without a special mention of tulips that adorn many flower beds and gardens. But if one were to see a garden dedicated only to tulips and many different varieties of it, one has to go to the Independence Park in Morges ( a small town about 50 km away from Geneva). Here a tulip festival is held every year between mid-April and mid-May. Given the location of the park on the shore of Lac Leman (the lake that originates near Montreux and runs up to Geneva) and against the backdrop of the Alps with its snow covered peaks, it's an ideal place to visit on a bright sunny spring day. However, with a delayed start of spring this year, the garden was not in full bloom even in the last week of April. And yet, it had worn such a lovely look! In terms of vastness, this garden cannot of course compete with the tulip garden in Keukenhof in Holland. But given the backdrop of the lake and the mountains, it does have an attraction of its own. The best time to visit the garden is between mid-April and mid-May. But one has to remember that tulips are very sensitive and require the right climate to blossom and stay.
What makes one in Geneva (and in places like this) long so much for spring? I don't think it's the same in Bangladesh, for example, although spring is celebrated there a with lot of fanfare. The explanation, perhaps, is in the length and harshness of winter and its impact on life in this part of the world. Although normal activities of life are carried out even during winter, nature does constrain life from showing its full form. With the environment remaining barren during the long winter and outdoor activities severely restricted, one really keeps longing for life to return in its full form. This is almost the mirror image of our waiting for hemanta (late autumn) and winter in Bangladesh. In contrast, spring in Bangladesh, although welcomed through festivals, marks the end of the pleasant season and the beginning of the tough and harsh summer. Moreover, the season lasts for a short while and is almost gulped by the rudeness of summer no sooner than it starts.
It's not only the daffodils, forsythias, tulips and pansies that have sprouted to life with the beginning of spring; one can see life becoming livelier in many other ways. With afternoons getting longer, children can be seen playing among themselves or with their parents in the parks even after their school hours. Young mothers are seen strolling with their small kids in strollers/prams. This is a common sight in the parks where I take my afternoon walk, and it often raises a question in my mind: how many mothers have I seen with their infants or kids at Baridhara park even during the pleasant winter afternoons? The simple reason could be that grandparents and ayahs perhaps look after the small kids when their mothers go out for a little fresh air in the afternoon. But here, not many mothers would have that kind of support, and it's quite common to see them out in parks, with the stroller in front of them, reading something or feeding the child or simply enjoying the soft rays of the sun after the confinement during the winter months.
What I personally look forward to is the opening of the cafés and restaurants on the sidewalks and lakeside promenades. In fact, my favourite café has already put up tables on the lawn and terrace in front of it where I enjoy my late morning coffee while enjoying the sun.
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