Vishal Sharma
Monsoons are remarkable times. Just when summers become painfully intolerant, come forth rains damping down sting in the torridity of the summer sun. Summers become wet, but turn sultry. High summer temperatures give way to high humidity. For some, it is a welcome relief; for others it isn’t or not as much for mugginess is a bigger irritant. It makes people bad tempered. Yes, you will have many caviling that one can’t enjoy even a walk, unless it is overcast and breezy, and in some cases food, when not taken in cool environs. But for all its flaws, monsoon does indeed represent a step change in weather.
There is nothing that makes one’s spirits soar than monsoon clouds gently floating; all while hanging low and darkening the sky to the perfect accompaniment of trees and plants swaying ever so slightly as if beckoning them to drench them. All life springing forth from the womb of earth seem to thirst for them. There is something about this relation that is surreal; beyond the normal; in the realm of metaphysical. To the discerning eye that sits calmly and watches them when skies turn charcoal grey and the warmth of the at hirst earth pines for clouds to burst open, it is all too visible.
When dark clouds open up and the rain touches the earth, there is a sigh of relief from the parched earth as epitomized by the white vapours swirling up, no less. Trees, plants, shrubs, herbs and weeds- all get together to welcome the rain; they never look as green as they do now or anytime after. Their expanse, foliage in parks, gardens, and open green spaces and over built up places increases massively, covering and draping everything in their surroundings. The roadside hedges and weeds and plants too overgrow and smother everything else underneath. There is green everywhere-here and there and beyond.
Birds too become chirpier. They fly with frenzy; as they dive in during their low flying to sit on the window sills or on the parapets of shops and houses or on the compound walls or on trees and garden plants in anticipation of rain. As clouds gather around and rumble, and wind rattles and sways trees and garden plants, birds become possessed- having found some zing in their flight from somewhere. They coo, cluck, caw, hoot and buzz as they strut around and indulge in fun and frolic. When heavens finally open up, they do a disappearing act only to come back later to quench their thirst. Rain forms puddles in its wake on depressions on roads, roofs and uncovered open spaces in which birds stick their beaks; relishing the most wonderful gift from nature. Their sounds liven up the atmosphere; as do of course of those that tread the ground.
Animals of all kinds and shapes also leave their burrows and holes like their avian friends and wait for the inevitable with an expectant hush. They crane their necks towards the sky as it thunders and roars; opening their mouths in the fond hope to catch the falling droplets. When rain pours down in torrents, they retire to their resting places, but as soon as skies take a recess, they come out to relish the sodden earth. The atmosphere resonates with howls, meows, rumbles, bleats, moos, oinks and neighs. Dogs let their tongues loll out to drink from the rain water trapped in the potholed roads. Other animals also dash towards the rain water wherever it gets collected.In water scarce summers, monsoon rains are the only hope for these voiceless avian and terrestrial beings.
Humans also delight in monsoon rains as it brings respite to them from the enervating heat. As temperatures shoot up in pre monsoon summers, there is nothing that they can touch without letting out a shriek. In case one happens to forgetfully walk barefoot outdoors when the sun is beating down on any pre monsoon summer afternoon, one rushes back screaming choicest expletives to the safety of the relatively cool interiors. And if one quite by chance places one’s hand under tap (which has water being fed from an overhead tank) to wash, there is no way it can be pulled away without it being scalded. It is difficult to even imagine taking a bath in such afternoons.Does sundown make evenings better? No, far from it !
Monsoon is a life giver or a life preserver as it reduces the day temperatures, washes down the environment, fosters green growth and purveys water to all forms living. Everything looks squeaky clean as the dust in the atmosphere is washed away. Days look cleaner and transparent; and nights cooler and light. There is doubtless humidity and, indeed that is debilitating. But if rains continue intermittently, humidity is held in check. Only if rains disappear as quickly as they come and do not repeat themselves more frequently that humidity takes a grip and makes life dreadfully obnoxious.
There is nothing that can rival the excitement of standing outdoors just when rain is about to come and soaking up the breeziness of the atmosphere. Everything looks set to explode in sheer ebullience; cheerful frenzy. Take a walk for a while in this high-spiritedness of the nature and see where it takes you. To realms of ecstasy ! As you walk expectantly for a while, a drizzle starts and then morphs into a downpour. You look around for a place to shelter yourself. As you escape to the safety provided by a protruding ceiling of a house or a shop, you find the downpour dissipating into a light drizzle within minutes; and then after a while vanishing completely. All you are left with is a mildly clearer sky and a few dark clouds perhaps a few miles out. You resume your walk thinking that rains will not return for a while only to find that the cloud cover has returned in a flash and the skies have again begun rattling and roaring. Another tranche of downpour and you have no option but to do a runner yet again. You are left wondering about the nature of monsoon; its fickle behavior. Does it have any resemblance with life? Perhaps, it does have.
I was visiting Nagpur the other day. One day I took a ride in an auto rickshaw from where I was staying to my daughter’s university. It was bucketing down that day as it normally does in central Indian plains during monsoon. As I was passing through a secluded stretch, I saw a couple- a newly married couple- on a bike. They had been caught in the pouring rain and were soaked to the skin. Suddenly the guy halted the bike and both got off it. The girl removed the dripping wet edge of her saree from her shoulder and wrung it. She then straightened it, steered it through her breasts, draping it over her left shoulder and finally tucked its end tightly into the petticoat at her waist in front. The boy then opened his chest and threw his arms outwards in a signature Shah Rukh Khan act. The girl, who was standing at a distance, twirled and swirled into her embrace, burying her head into his chest just under his chin. The boy then moved to clasp her from behind with both his arms. And they stood motionless in the pelting rain. Desperate not to lose sight of them, I craned my neck to watch them as my ride rattled past them till I could no longer glimpse them. This is monsoon for you. This is the effect monsoon has on the people. Is there any other season or weather phenomenon that can so move people emotionally?
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