the fortnight ahead

Not a to-do list. Think of this as a weather forecast for the season of the heart, so nothing arrives as a surprise.

Tomorrow, Saturday 25 July — Devshayani Ekadashi. Vishnu goes to sleep for four months; Chaturmas, the season of tending rather than launching, begins.

Wednesday 29 July — Guru Purnima, the full moon kept for teachers since it was kept for Vyasa. A good day to name the people who taught you.

Thursday 30 July — Shravan begins in the North. In Maharashtra, Gujarat and the South, by the Amanta reckoning, it begins around 13 August. The first Sawan Somwar in the North falls on Monday 3 August.

Deeper in Shravan, further off — Hariyali Teej on 15 August, Nag Panchami on 17 August, and Raksha Bandhan on Friday 28 August.

Nothing needs preparing tonight. It is simply good to know what is coming, the way you know the rain is.