The monsoon has arrived much earlier than expected this year. It was to come two days later , and we were awaiting its arrival with all the eagerness. The previous day was very sunny , bright and warm. The Newspaper said that the monsoon had reached Kerala state in time and proceeds towards karnataka state within couple days. Every species was eagerly waiting for the monsoon as the summer days and nights had become intolerable with increased suffocating heat. The very next morning, on getting up, I found the overcast sky indicating the nearing of the monsoon. The cloudy sky and the windy weather persisted all through day but without any drizzling. The following day, in the morning, it had started raining silently. Chill wind brushed our cheeks and arms fondly and teasingly reminding us of our warm clothes neatly packed in the cupboard. The atmosphere was very pleasant and inspiring. I enjoyed my first monsoon tea in the balcony watching the rain, in the background some old Hindi film song was coming from the radio. It made my day. Nature has its moods and swings. But contrary to this, there were splashes of summer rains in the month of May. This time, the May rains were very frightening and scary; lightening , thunders and gusty wind all combined made the raining very frightening. The rain seemed as if it was raging over the earth. The lightening one after another followed by the sky breaking thunders seemed never to cease. The rain continued nearly for three to four hours, the electricity went off, old trees and branches fell off on the road and vehicles parked road side. Traffic came to a halt. As the darkness started setting in , the scene began looking more scary though the rain had come to an end bringing respite . Since so many years, I have experienced the summer rains which have brought happiness to me. I always associate the first rain with the smell of the earth and freshness of greenery around. Summer rains are usually characterized with lightning and thunder. But the recent experience of the rain in the third week of May is memorable. I had never seen in all these years of my life the rain being so furious and raging. The thunders were so deafening that it seemed as if it was going to strike somewhere very near me and ripping me apart any moment. Though being in the safety of the house , I felt very nervous and weak against the fury of nature. Nature has different moods and each has different
color and tone.
But the monsoon rains are soothing , musical and delightful to watch. It seems nature is at its best and peaceful ,and wants to shower, nourish and beautify all the living things on the earth. with the blessing of rain god, all creatures take a deep breath after the summer. Trees, plants, birds, insects and animals - all welcome rain after the insufferable summer. Every shade of green looks brilliant and fresh after the rain wash, birds flutter around joyously chirping songs of their soul. With a kettle of tea and pakodas , Monsoon rains are always welcome and enjoyable.
