Talk about snowbirds fleeing from the American Northeast to the Sunshine State! Look what happens in the Himalayas. Part of a region whose control is disputed by Pakistan, China, and India, the “state” of Jammu and Kashmir has two capitals, one for winter and the other for summer. The capital city Jammu is blisteringly hot in summer. The capital city Srinagar is very cold in winter.
Nice when you can pick up your job and move to comfortable climes, isn’t it? That’s what the government officials get to do as they bounce from Jammu to Srinagar. If you can’t govern in Hawaii, chose a place that allows you to change scenery as it changes with seasons.
Most of us are tied to a place. Getting away is an event, usually one that requires some time away from school or work and either excess money or a credit card. The officials of Jammu and Kashmir get to incorporate change of scene and job. They get paid to bounce back and forth between “Scottsdale” and “Pittsburgh.”
Being tied to place has its advantages and disadvantages. Whatever the vicissitudes of weather, you’re stuck. Hot, dry, cold, wet: Live with it. What’s your choice? Right. You don’t have one. Of course, we all become acclimated to the weather. Freezing temperatures seem unbearable as fall turns to winter, but they seem tolerable as winter turns to spring. Hot temperatures seem intolerable as spring turns to summer, but they seem bearable as summer turns to fall.
If you are an American snowbird or an “Indian” official in Jammu and Kashmir, you run from adaptation, spending your time as you see fit in a climate that, because you changed place, seems rather mild. Those who stay behind suffer the extremes. They do, however, have an advantage. By contrast, they know widely different sensations: Being much too hot or much too cold. They move from a sauna right into a cold lake. The change can be exhilarating.
When everything is similar, nothing exhilarating happens. Relish the extremes wrought by the climate of place and the differences in the people around you.
Nice when you can pick up your job and move to comfortable climes, isn’t it? That’s what the government officials get to do as they bounce from Jammu to Srinagar. If you can’t govern in Hawaii, chose a place that allows you to change scenery as it changes with seasons.
Most of us are tied to a place. Getting away is an event, usually one that requires some time away from school or work and either excess money or a credit card. The officials of Jammu and Kashmir get to incorporate change of scene and job. They get paid to bounce back and forth between “Scottsdale” and “Pittsburgh.”
Being tied to place has its advantages and disadvantages. Whatever the vicissitudes of weather, you’re stuck. Hot, dry, cold, wet: Live with it. What’s your choice? Right. You don’t have one. Of course, we all become acclimated to the weather. Freezing temperatures seem unbearable as fall turns to winter, but they seem tolerable as winter turns to spring. Hot temperatures seem intolerable as spring turns to summer, but they seem bearable as summer turns to fall.
If you are an American snowbird or an “Indian” official in Jammu and Kashmir, you run from adaptation, spending your time as you see fit in a climate that, because you changed place, seems rather mild. Those who stay behind suffer the extremes. They do, however, have an advantage. By contrast, they know widely different sensations: Being much too hot or much too cold. They move from a sauna right into a cold lake. The change can be exhilarating.
When everything is similar, nothing exhilarating happens. Relish the extremes wrought by the climate of place and the differences in the people around you.
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