Monsoon in Kerala

Rain has always fascinated me. The dark clouds, flashes of lightning and the rumbling of thunder, splashing in the puddles, making paperboats and letting them float in the running water. Fond memories of Calcutta; it was not Kolkatta then! Playing football in the pouring rain getting my clothes dirty, coming home and getting scolded by everyone, taking a bath in steaming hot water. Eating piping hot 'khichuri' and listening to songs on the old radio, a childhood that I cherish and that only lives in my memories and a few photographs.

On my recent pilgrimage to Kerala, I experienced the joy of the monsoon, rain in all its beauty, pouring non-stop, camouflaging everything in a shiny haze. It would rain for three hours in the early hours of the morning from 2:30 A.M. to 5:30 A.M. Then the sun would shine in all its glory till 10 A.M. then another shower till 1 P.M., a cat and mouse game that would bring water everywhere.

The people continue to travel unmindful of the rain, children rushing to school, the naughty ones putting paperboats in the drains. The harried officegoer rushing to work, the devotees in all their faith going protected with an umbrella to the temples.

Life goes on as the rain gods shower their bounty onto the earth.

The next entry will be about my visit to Kochi.