PACHU MENON
It is said that too much of anything is bad. Just as excessive light could blind, weather conditions hovering around its extremities could have telling effects on the lives of people. Moderation is the essence of life.
However, with the tolerance levels showing a sharp decline among people in the past few years, a tendency to nag and complain seems to have replaced the fortitude to see through the ‘horrid’ times.
Take the extreme conditions which have become a common feature of all climates of late.
With summer at its peak, two things shoot up - mercury and stress! Likewise, the harshness of winter at times brings about untold agonies in its wake.
And rains! While the news that the four-month long southwest monsoon is likely to withdraw from the state in the next few days signals the seasonal change of climates heralding the onset of the next cycle of weather, it is indeed difficult to believe that Goans are over and done with their share of the wet-spell and the problems that come with it.
Moreover, reports of cyclonic winds accompanied by rain causing damage to property in Sattari taluka; rain accompanied by a thunderstorm and a vicious squall causing havoc in Bardez and Bicholim talukas which disrupted normal life in these areas, far from confirm the end of the rains in the state.
As a season that has all along seen as the embodiment of nature’s vivacity, the joie de vivre associated with every aspect of monsoon has inspired poets and wordsmiths to immortalize the wonders of the joyous climate.
One generally relates overcast skies, gentle murmur of the wind as it passes through the trees and the sudden flashes of lightning accompanied by thunder claps with the arrival of monsoon. Whether it is the soothing music of raindrops or the aroma of mud after the first rains, monsoon continues to be enchanting for different reasons.
Coming as it does as a big relief after the agonizing period of scorching summer, rains have always been a welcome respite. People’s romance with rains has however come to an abrupt halt after a series of cataclysmic disasters which has made everyone wish the rains would forever play truant and spare mankind the agony of disasters it brings in its wake.
The Uttarakhand cloud-burst, and more recently the Kerala deluge, has very clearly brought to fore humankind’s helplessness in grappling with the furies of nature.
But has realization dawned that these unfortunate turn of events have occurred due to the virtual ransack of nature’s bounties by man unmindful of the disastrous consequences such vagarious acts could have on the environment.
In the haste to keep pace with rapidly evolving technological developments that describes the world today, the human race is surrendering its power of reasoning to the comforts brought about by scientific revolution.
It is rightly said that there is an inseparable bond between man and nature. However, the systematic loot of natural resources is disturbing the much sought ‘compatible equilibrium’ between man and Mother Nature. As a result there is an inconsistency in the natural cycle which is essential for the sustenance of life on earth.
The message is loud and clear: “The human race is in for a monumental catastrophe!” Yet, mankind’s aversion to such sane advise is deplorable!
The rains are no more a periodic feature of the climatic almanac of any region! So much so that the overwhelming dread over unseasonal downpours whenever they have occurred has influenced people enough to believe that heavy rains would one day herald the end of the world!
With ‘red’ and ‘yellow’ alerts popping up so frequently in the public domain, the classification of the rain-intensity by the authorities too has not been without its own share of apprehensions.
The calamitous trend the monsoons have assumed over the past few years has everyone cringing in fear no sooner a shower ‘metastasizes’ into a downpour which shows no sign of abating.
Feeling the monsoon blues is a quite natural effect of a prolonged wet-spell. Although everyone welcomes the season’s first rains, gloomy skies can bring down even the most optimistic soul.
Changes in geographical constants in various regions have contributed to the erratic climatic change observed in recent times. Unseasonal rains are just one of the many consequences!
And so, a much-loved weather is now being slighted for the ferocious countenance it has assumed over the past few years.
Nevertheless, the nicest thing about the rain is that it stops. But does it really! With incessant rains making the situation much more difficult and confusing for the people, it could be vouched for that rains are less inclined these days to be ‘moderate’.
Flash floods and heavy rains have their own stories to narrate in this country ravaged by deadly weathers round the year. Somehow the countrymen are yet to come to terms with the vagaries of nature and the havoc and the untold miseries it leaves behind.
With the recent spate of ‘deluge dilemma’ traumatizing the nation, it appears that putting up with the rains in the best possible way they can remains the solitary option for the countrymen.
After all, as the saying goes, just as there is calm after a tempest, there is also a rainbow after the rains!
