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Chasing the monsoon
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The whims and fancies of the monsoon are sure to throw anyone off balance. Progressing fast one day and refusing to budge the next, it is like a stubborn child, writes R. K. ROSHNI
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THESE ARE busy days for the Meteorological office. The Met people are preoccupied with tracking the onset of this year's, so far elusive, monsoon.
And a none-too-enviable task it is, at least till the monsoon designs to pay the southern coast of Kerala a visit.
The whims and fancies of the monsoon are sure to throw anyone off balance. Progressing fast one day and refusing to budge the next, it is like a stubborn child.
With the country's fortunes heavily dependent on good rains, any error in prediction, as in the year before, can break the backs of many - the most powerful as well as the most common.
The monsoon here is no ordinary downpour. It is the lifeline of the country. The southwest monsoon accounts for 80 per cent of the country's annual rainfall. A good monsoon is crucial to the country's economic health, for, our agricultural sector accounts for a quarter of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employs about 70 per cent of the country's more than one billion population.
But the progress of the monsoon is keenly followed not just for economic reasons. After a dry spell, lasting for months on end, the parched earth seems to almost cry out for the first drop of rain.
Near the coast, the sun and even the red earth seem to give off heat. The stifling air seems to bear down upon one. Listlessness descends upon everything around, man included. One wakes up drenched in sweat. And then, one day, the agonising wait comes to an end. Gusts of wind blow away everything in its path. The swaying palms make loud rustling noises. The idyllic sea becomes a tumultuous mass of water. Thunderclaps and streaks of lightning send everyone scurrying for cover. It becomes dark as night, and then, it pours and pours...
Monsoon -- there's magic in the word. There's romance in it. There's life in it -- the intoxicating smell of damp earth, sprouting leaves, washed streets, knee-deep water, crisp air and lots of fun, not to forget dark ominous clouds rolling across the sky.
The word, monsoon, is derived from the Arabic word, mausim, which means `season'. It is used to describe seasonal reversals of wind direction, caused by temperature differences between the land and the sea. These winds blow from the southwest from April to October and from northeast from October to April. It is a somewhat larger version of the land and sea breeze. In summer, the land warms more quickly than the ocean. As the hot air over the land rises, it forms an area of low pressure. The air over the oceans is cooler and denser. To maintain the balance, air from the oceans starts flowing to the land, bringing in moisture-laden southwest winds. In winter, the reverse occurs. As the land and water begin to cool down in late summer, the land loses heat more quickly. The wind reverses during this phase, becoming a northeasterly.
The monsoon is not specific to the Indian subcontinent. It is known to occur over north Australia, western and eastern Africa and the southern U.S. But they are not as well pronounced as the Indian monsoon.
The southwest monsoon overruns almost the whole country in a month's time owing to its two branches. After breaking on the southern part of the peninsula in early June, the branch, known as the Arabian Sea arm, blows on to the Western Ghats.
So much rain is dumped there that not much is left for the remaining part of the country. Only the seaward side of the Ghats receive heavy rain after that. This arm finally reaches Mumbai around June 10.
The other branch is known as the Bay of Bengal arm and spreads over most of Assam by the first week of June. The Himalayan ranges act as a barrier and deflect the winds westward along the Indo-Gangetic plain, towards Delhi. Thereafter, the two arms merge as a single current bringing rain to the remaining parts of north India in July.
Factors such as El Nino, Coriolis force and the Somali jet stream also have their say in the way the monsoon winds blow.
In Kerala, the reopening of schools on June 1, after a two-month break, coincides with the onset of the monsoon. This year, however, the legendary June 1 was a holiday and parents were spared the hassle of hurrying kids along to school before the first showers caught up with them. Whether the rains will come in the next couple of days in uncertain.
The Met office has predicted that the monsoon may hit the coast somewhere around June 4 to 6. The kids will have to put up with the cloying heat till the first squalls come and they can get soaked to the skin, much to the chagrin of parents.
The monsoon has inspired many of our art and cultural forms. In the Sanskrit classic, `Meghdoot', by Kalidasa, the monsoon is used as a metaphor to convey love after separation. The cloud is the messenger.
The raga-centred Indian classical music enables the fullest expression of emotion. Many ragas, such as Megh Malhar in Hindustani and Amritavarshini in Carnatic, are fabled to move the Gods, especially Indra, who is charged with dispensing or withholding rain.
The Megha raga series of the famous Ragamala paintings depicts Lord Krishna dancing in joyous abandon along with women musicians.
Clouds in such paintings represent either the rains or the turbulent minds of anxious lovers. Peacocks could represent beseeching male lovers.
The monsoon is also the time to go in for rejuvenating Ayurvedic treatments.
There is mention in our mythology of yagas having been performed to invoke the rain God. But the capriciousness of the monsoon has led to them being performed in many parts of the country in recent years.
The monsoon brings with it a feeling of love, longing and romance. It sends pulses racing. This feeling of joyous abandon is depicted in many Bollywood films. Remember the song, Rimjhim gire sawan, Sulag sulag jaye man, in which Amitabh Bachchan and Moushmi Chatterjee, walk down the Marine Drive in Mumbai, drenched to the skin and holding hands. Then, there's the Rafi number, Zindagi bhar nahin bhoolegi woh barsaat ki raat, or the melodious Sawan ka mahina, pawan kare s(h)or.
The monsoon is also not the time to sit cooped up at home. It's time to head out to holiday destinations and allow the rains to work their magic. Monsoon brings out the best colours of the country, be it at the desert festivals of Rajasthan or the backwaters of Kerala.
The hip and happening crowd nowadays gets the chance to cavort in the rain at five-star hotels and discotheques that organise rain dances even when the mercury is touching 40 degrees. Such is the hold of the monsoon on our lives.
It also makes the difference between life and death for the farmers. Farm production is heavily dependant on the timely arrival and distribution of rains. With irrigation facilities not uniformly distributed all over the country, too much or too little rain can prove disastrous. Monsoon rain generates food, provides labour, and creates cash flow in the market. Bad rain can result in dipping stock market and falling corporate investment. A great deal of the country's electricity requirement is generated by water power provided by the monsoon rain.
Last year's dry spell, after 14 consecutive good monsoon rains, affected 12 states and 300 million people. Hundreds of lives were lost in the heat wave conditions.
After failure to anticipate the dry spell last year, the 16-parameter model adopted by the Indian Meteorological Department has been replaced by a new model. It uses eight land, ocean and wind parameters to predict the extent of the monsoon. The IMD claims the model is more accurate than the previous one and would give better advance warning about possible drought.
The monsoon is the soul of our life. It nourishes our vast country and breathes life into it. And we, Indians, live in the hope that the rains go away to come again another day...
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