The Rain Rhapsody

I am sitting on my bed, fingers wrapped around a hot mug of coffee and watching the unfolding drama happening right outside my bedroom window. I am referring to “The Great Cloud Migration” and the soul invigorating first rains.

For the past couple of days wispy white clouds had been blazing a constant trail across the otherwise cerulean blue sky. The breeze scattered clouds, form strange shapes. I could see in them images of lambs, an angelic face, waves and many other delightful objects, even though the clouds appeared nebulous to others.

Soon the flimsy, white clouds were replaced by dark, rain-bearing nimbus clouds. These clouds were decidedly plumper and had a menacing air to them. The nimbus clouds raced across the firmament, to join their parent clouds. These were huge, rolling cloud stacks in the distant horizon.

Several hundred feet high, these monstrous behemoths rumbled ominously and threw shards of blinding lightning around them with abandon. With their arrival a sudden hush descended on the countryside. Except for the haunting cry of a lone koel there was a palpable stillness in the air. The hush was punctuated only by a distant growl.

After being in the grip of a severe heat wave for three long months, the land and its people were patiently waiting for some succor in the form of rain. And it came with a soft whoosh; raced down the hills and shrouded the land in a soft gossamer veil. It blotted out the thin evening light, which till then had fused together the darkening landscape.

As the rain slowly percolated into the sun parched earth, a moist fragrance and a soft satisfied hiss emanated from the earths underbelly. The unsure pitter-patter of the initial rain soon turned into a thunderous downpour. Slivers of sky were reflected in the sparkling pools which filled the pockmarked ground.

The gravel road slowly petered out under the sudden torrential onslaught. The jacaranda trees bordering the road swayed violently. Their massive branches snapped like matchsticks. The roll of the distant thunder grew louder by the minute, even as the jagged lightning illuminated the evening sky.

The rain died away soon after. The countryside was sluiced clean by the downpour. The air was filled with the rapturous song of birds. That first rains seemed to inject a steroidal dose of infectious enthusiasm in both man and animal.

A WALK IN THE HILLS

A lone eagle flew high overhead, wheeling, a black dot in the clear blue sky. The air was crisp and chill and we sat watching the wood smoke curling upwards from one of the hutments far below. Our vantage point was the Ganesh temple nestled in the hills high above the surrounding plains.

It was the month of August. There had been a small interlude between the torrential rains and we used this opportunity to explore the hills bordering our house. A short steep climb along the tarred road bought us to the foothills. From there a tiny path threaded its way through the dense foliage. Trees in a thousand shades of green blanketed the entire hillside. Pale sunlight filtered through the forest canopy taking on an ethereal greenish tinge. Suddenly a bird disturbed by our footfall exploded from the forest floor and flew upwards in a riot of colors. A koel hidden in one of the upper branches of a mango tree serenaded us with its sweet haunting cry. A tiny squirrel chattering happily skittered up a nearby neem tree.

As we trekked upwards we suddenly spied a tiny white edifice. A red flag on its tiled roof fluttered lazily in the breeze. Tucked away between tall trees it could easily be missed. We stood gazing at it for a long time.

A distant ominous rumble sent us scrambling for shelter. Pelting rain soon followed. Soaked to the skin we finally reached the white building which turned out to be a temple. For the next half hour the temple provided us refuge from the driving rain. Sitting on its broad, stone- flagged verandah we had a bird’s eye view of the surrounding countryside.

After about an hour the rain slowly died down. The sun came out in its entire golden splendor. The newly washed leaves glistened in the sunlight and the heady smell of wet earth filled us with a sense of well being. Reluctantly we decided to head home before the rain commenced.

Although we have visited the temple several times subsequently, we have never quite been able to recapture the magic of that first visit in the rain.