A Dust Storm

June is the hottest month in Punjab. The earth burns like a furnace. The hot wind starts blowing and scorching the body. One listens to the jarring music of the insects on the earth. One perspires and perspires. One feels like sitting in water all the time unless one makes an arrangement for a bath. One’s body may start smelling badly with the sweat. Everyone feels restless. People look to the sky for the rain. Dust-storms always start blowing due to the formation of low pressure.

One evening in June it was very hot. We were busy doing work. We heard cries, "a dust storm". The sky was getting brownish and the brown wave was advancing with a lot of hissing sound. It grows bigger and biggest. Soon the whole of the sky was overcast with it. The sun was completely hidden. There was a lull in the wind. An oppressive hush rented the atmosphere. It grew dark.

Now came a gale. Clouds of dust and sand rose to the sky. The traffic came to a halt. The storm was very furious. The wind was so terribly blowing that one could not bear it. Our eyes and body were killed with sand and dust. A curtain of dust was seen over the whole town. Trees and poles were uprooted. Electric wires and telephone wires were damaged. There was a breakdown of the electric supply. Telephones got out of order.

There was confusion everywhere. The doors and windows rattled and banged. A thick coating of dust came over the things. We were working in the fields. We came to a small hut and rested there. There was no hope of its subsiding. I never saw such a furious dust storm earlier.

The storm subsided after about two hours. Now there was lightning and thundering of clouds. There came a gentle drizzle. Then sharp showers followed it. For about an hour it rained heavily. The dust all around got removed. We heaved a sigh of relief. The temperature also fell. The weather became pleasant. No doubt, the dust storms trouble us. But it is a natural phenomenon. It is said that it is beneficial for human health. Deadly germs get scattered.