---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: After midday, the rain eased, and the…"
description: "\"“After midday, the rain eased, and the Land Rover rode into Pokhara on a shaft of storm light. Next day there was humid sun and shifting southern skies..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba0/peter-matthiessen-5795_beauty_after-midday-the-rain-eased-and-the-land_1822767.jpg"
---

#  After midday, the rain eased, and the Land Rover rode into…

![“After midday, the rain eased, and the Land Rover rode into Pokhara on a shaft of storm light. Next day there was humid sun and shifting southern skies, but to the north a deep tumult of swirling grays was all that could be seen of the Himalaya. At dusk, white egrets flapped across the sunken…” quote by Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba0/peter-matthiessen-5795_beauty_after-midday-the-rain-eased-and-the-land_1822767.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba0/peter-matthiessen-5795_beauty_after-midday-the-rain-eased-and-the-land_1822767.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba0/peter-matthiessen-5795_beauty_after-midday-the-rain-eased-and-the-land_1822767.jpg)

> ““After midday, the rain eased, and the Land Rover rode into Pokhara on a shaft of storm light. Next day there was humid sun and shifting southern skies, but to the north a deep tumult of swirling grays was all that could be seen of the Himalaya. At dusk, white egrets flapped across the sunken clouds, now black with rain; on earth, the dark had come. Then four miles above these mud streets of the lowlands, at a point so high as to seem overhead, a luminous whiteness shone- the light of snows. Glaciers loomed and vanished in the grays, and the sky parted, and the snow cone of Machhapuchare glistened like a spire of a higher kingdom. In the night, the stars convened, and the vast ghost of Machhapuchare radiated light, although there was no moon.””

[Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A vivid travel description of changing weather and majestic Himalayan scenery, evoking awe and the fleeting nature of perception.

**In simple terms:** Nature’s beauty shifts with weather and light.

Key Takeaway

Observe and cherish moments of natural wonder.

Themes

nature travel beauty impermanence

Mood

wonderful reflective tranquil

Type

descriptive poetic inspirational

When to use this quote

- hiking trips
- photography
- meditation
- environmental education

Key Concepts

landscape light weather mountains spirituality

Questions to Reflect On

- How does changing light alter your perception of a place?
- What emotions arise when confronting vast landscapes?

A Different Perspective

The description may romanticize hardship and overlook local human experiences.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Land rover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/land-rover/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moon/) [Mountains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mountains/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/)

## Related quotes

> [“The light irradiates white peaks of Annapurna marching down the sky, in the great rampart that spreads east and west for eighteen hundred miles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/the-light-irradiates-white-peaks-of-annapurna-marching-down-the-sky/)

[Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/)

> [“Between the shadows of the earth and the dark depths of the sky, human life lay slumbering, with all its unsolved puzzles.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-storm/between-the-shadows-of-the-earth-and-the-dark-depths-of-the-sky-human/)

Theodor Storm

> [For him it was a dark passage which led to nowhere, then to nowhere, then again to nowhere, once again to nowhere, always and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/for-him-it-was-a-dark-passage-which-led-to-nowhere-then-to-nowhere-2/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [I never dreamed the sea so deep, The earth so dark; so long my sleep, I have become another child. I wake to see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-ginsberg/i-never-dreamed-the-sea-so-deep-the-earth-so-dark-so-long-my-sleep-i/)

[Allen Ginsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-ginsberg/)

> [Sun and moon have no light left, earth is dark; Our women's world is sunk so deep, who can help us? Jewelry sold to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/qiu-jin/sun-and-moon-have-no-light-left-earth-is-dark-our-women-s-world-is/)

[Qiu Jin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/qiu-jin/)

> [“they rode out on the round dais of the earth which alone was dark and no light to it and which carried their figures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/they-rode-out-on-the-round-dais-of-the-earth-which-alone-was-dark-and/)

[Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/)

> [“For him it was a dark passage which led to nowhere, then to nowhere, then again to nowhere, once again to nowhere, always and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/for-him-it-was-a-dark-passage-which-led-to-nowhere-then-to-nowhere/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [“Until humans came and made anthills out of these mountains, Diwan Sahib was saying, looking up at the langurs, the land had belonged to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anuradha-roy/until-humans-came-and-made-anthills-out-of-these-mountains-diwan/)

[Anuradha Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anuradha-roy/)

> [“O dear Himalaya...why are you so amazing, can I kiss your peak or can I just let your silence speak...O dear Himalaya...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santosh-kalwar/o-dear-himalaya-why-are-you-so-amazing-can-i-kiss-your-peak-or-can-i/)

[Santosh Kalwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santosh-kalwar/)

> [“SPRING HAD RETURNED to the high Himalaya, the way a bird settles down to nurture and warm the nest. Snowmelt punched and jabbed through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-abell/spring-had-returned-to-the-high-himalaya-the-way-a-bird-settles-down/)

[Ed Abell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-abell/)

> [Faith is like the Himalaya mountains which cannot possibly change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/faith-is-like-the-himalaya-mountains-which-cannot-possibly-change/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [I want to settle down in Mussorie. I'm in love with the Himalaya.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-banerjee/i-want-to-settle-down-in-mussorie-i-m-in-love-with-the-himalaya/)

[Victor Banerjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-banerjee/)

> [If ropes and hooks are enough anyone can climb the Himalaya.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammad-mustafa/if-ropes-and-hooks-are-enough-anyone-can-climb-the-himalaya/)

[Mohammad MUSTAFA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammad-mustafa/)

## More by Peter Matthiessen

> [Alec Wilkinson is a spare, clear, and lucid writer who works in stylistic simplicity with material that is not simple at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/alec-wilkinson-is-a-spare-clear-and-lucid-writer-who-works-in/)

[Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/)

> [Figures dark beneath their loads pass down the far bank of the river, rendered immortal by the streak of sunset upon their shoulders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/figures-dark-beneath-their-loads-pass-down-the-far-bank-of-the-river/)

[Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/)

> [I think in any writing you're paying attention to detail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/i-think-in-any-writing-you-re-paying-attention-to-detail/)

[Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/)

> [The great stillness in these landscapes that once made me restless seeps into me day by day, and with it the unreasonable feeling that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/the-great-stillness-in-these-landscapes-that-once-made-me-restless/)

[Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/)

> [“...experience was static in the valley; it was older than time itself, for time was a thing of but two generations, dated by moons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/experience-was-static-in-the-valley-it-was-older-than-time-itself-for/)

[Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/)

> [“The central feature of the practice of meditation and hard work known as Zen is that, as Matthiessen says, it “has no patience with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/the-central-feature-of-the-practice-of-meditation-and-hard-work-known/)

[Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/)

> [Be light, light, light - full of light!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/be-light-light-light-full-of-light/)

[Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/)

> [For some time I watch the coming of the night? Above is the glistening galaxy of childhood, now hidden in the Western world by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/for-some-time-i-watch-the-coming-of-the-night-above-is-the-glistening/)

[Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/)

> [“Nonfiction at its best is like fashioning a cabinet. It can be elegant and very beautiful but it can never be sculpture. Captive to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/nonfiction-at-its-best-is-like-fashioning-a-cabinet-it-can-be-elegant/)

[Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/)

> [Soon the child’s clear eye is clouded over by ideas and opinions, preconceptions, and abstractions. Simple free being becomes encrusted with the burdensome armor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/soon-the-child-s-clear-eye-is-clouded-over-by-ideas-and-opinions/)

[Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/)

> [“In the book of Job, the Lord demands, “Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?” “I was there!”-surely that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/in-the-book-of-job-the-lord-demands-where-wast-thou-when-i-laid-the/)

[Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/)

> [I meditate for the last time on this mountain that is bare, though others all around are white with snow. Like the bare peak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/i-meditate-for-the-last-time-on-this-mountain-that-is-bare-though/)

[Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/)

> [I was just very interested in the American frontier and the growth of capitalism - those enormous fortunes that were being made, more often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/i-was-just-very-interested-in-the-american-frontier-and-the-growth-of/)

[Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/)

> [“A far cicada rings high and clear over the river’s heavy wash. Morning glory, a lone dandelion, cassia, orchids. So far from the nearest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/a-far-cicada-rings-high-and-clear-over-the-river-s-heavy-wash-morning/)

[Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/)

> [I ... had what Kierkegaard called 'the sickness of infinitude,' wandering from one path to another with no real recognition that I was embarked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/i-had-what-kierkegaard-called-the-sickness-of-infinitude-wandering/)

[Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/)

[Explore all 99 Peter Matthiessen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/)

## More Beauty quotes

> [We do not want nowadays temples of worship and outward rites and ceremonies. What we really want is an Asram. We want a place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/we-do-not-want-nowadays-temples-of-worship-and-outward-rites-and/)

[Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/)

> [How could anybody confuse truth with beauty, I thought as I looked at him. Truth came with sunken eyes, bony or scarred, decayed. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/how-could-anybody-confuse-truth-with-beauty-i-thought-as-i-looked-at/)

[Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/)

> [A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;It's loveliness increase;it will never pass into nothingness;but still will keep a bower quiet for us,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-for-ever-it-s-loveliness-increase-it-will/)

[John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/)

> [To fathom the power, to witness the beauty, to bathe in the fountain, to swing on the spiral of our divinity, and still be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tool/to-fathom-the-power-to-witness-the-beauty-to-bathe-in-the-fountain-to/)

[Tool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tool/)

> [The term "black metal" has become a lot looser, or can include a larger range of sounds and extra-musical aesthetics, not just Satan and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-marston/the-term-black-metal-has-become-a-lot-looser-or-can-include-a-larger/)

[Colin Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-marston/)

> [“We've all met people who are beautiful on the outside, however, when they open their mouths to speak, they have nothing of substance to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/we-ve-all-met-people-who-are-beautiful-on-the-outside-however-when/)

[Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/)

> [There are various orders of beauty, causing men to make fools of themselves in various styles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-are-various-orders-of-beauty-causing-men-to-make-fools-of/)

[George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/)

> [To me, the beauty of a quilt or a dress lies within the stitches and the thought of the person who made them. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie/to-me-the-beauty-of-a-quilt-or-a-dress-lies-within-the-stitches-and/)

[Natalie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie/)

> [“do not misunderstand person by beauty You really do not know its real or Mask on dirty thoughts”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-zaki-ansari/do-not-misunderstand-person-by-beauty-you-really-do-not-know-its-real/)

[Mohammed Zaki Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-zaki-ansari/)

> [“I already love in you your beauty, but I am only beginning to love in you that which is eternal and ever precious –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-already-love-in-you-your-beauty-but-i-am-only-beginning-to-love-in/)

[Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/)

> [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/the-more-perfect-the-sight-is-the-more-delightful-the-beautiful/)

[Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/)

> [Call her beautiful a million times and she won't believe you. Call her ugly once, and she will never forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tumblr/call-her-beautiful-a-million-times-and-she-won-t-believe-you-call-her/)

Tumblr

> [Time can but make her beauty over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/time-can-but-make-her-beauty-over-again/)

[William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/)

> [ The social \[media channel\] isn't about beauty contests and popularity contests. They're a distortion, a caricature of the real thing. It's about trust, connection,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umair-haque/the-social-media-channel-isn-t-about-beauty-contests-and-popularity/)

[Umair Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umair-haque/)

> [“What about you? What do you do?” I needed to ask questions, draw him out. I needed to find out all the information I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-avery-ellison/what-about-you-what-do-you-do-i-needed-to-ask-questions-draw-him-out/)

[Kate Avery Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-avery-ellison/)

[Browse all 24,662 Beauty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“After midday, the rain eased, and the Land Rover rode into Pokhara on a shaft of storm light. Next day there was humid sun and shifting southern skies, but to the north a deep tumult of swirling grays was all that could be seen of the Himalaya. At dusk, white egrets flapped across the sunken clouds, now black with rain; on earth, the dark had come. Then four miles above these mud streets of the lowlands, at a point so high as to seem overhead, a luminous whiteness shone- the light of snows. Glaciers loomed and vanished in the grays, and the sky parted, and the snow cone of Machhapuchare glistened like a spire of a higher kingdom. In the night, the stars convened, and the vast ghost of Machhapuchare radiated light, although there was no moon.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Peter Matthiessen"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/after-midday-the-rain-eased-and-the-land-rover-rode-into-pokhara-on-a/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Beauty"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/after-midday-the-rain-eased-and-the-land-rover-rode-into-pokhara-on-a/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba0/peter-matthiessen-5795_beauty_after-midday-the-rain-eased-and-the-land_1822767.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba0/peter-matthiessen-5795_beauty_after-midday-the-rain-eased-and-the-land_1822767.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba0/peter-matthiessen-5795_beauty_after-midday-the-rain-eased-and-the-land_1822767.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“After midday, the rain eased, and the Land Rover rode into Pokhara on a shaft of storm light. Next day there…” — Peter Matthiessen",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Peter Matthiessen",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“After midday, the rain eased, and...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/after-midday-the-rain-eased-and-the-land-rover-rode-into-pokhara-on-a/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/after-midday-the-rain-eased-and-the-land-rover-rode-into-pokhara-on-a/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
