Children dancing in the rain on the streets, people bustling by to run their errands, the quintessentially Indian 'Chai' and 'Pakodas' in offices & homes and grannies who regale the delighted children with interesting stories. All of this heralds the joy that the monsoons bring.
Yet, there is a life beyond the goodness of this season. A life where people living in coastal areas deal with the monstrous side of the rains on a day-to-day basis. The most disaster prone areas have experienced it acutely. Life there stops for no one. The rains bring the joy of a new season but along with a hoard of other problems. Homes are re-located, roads re-built time and again, disaster management processes put in place to avoid yet another season of high inconvenience and chaos.
Despite the efforts, there is a general lack of seriousness in the crowd. They have by large taken it to be another permanent part of their lives. Monsoon or no monsoon, life must get on and when it is a matter of survival for most where would the joyous disposition for rains come from? When would there be a time to pause and wonder at the beauty of it all? When there are uncountable puddles to avoid and the rush hour to cross as the minutes pass by and you're either stuck in the middle of nowhere in a bus full of wet, drenched to the skin passengers mingling in the scent of 'beedis', coffee, the good ol' sweat and the damp odor of the weather or you're travelling in a Mumbai local much to the same effect with the additional swaying of bodies to the rhythm of the beats that the rain Gods play.
Life just doesn't stop. This is a land where people time and again reaffirm Darwin's 'Survival of the Fittest'. We are typically laid-back when it comes to management and implementing processes. We seek to cross the hurdles by getting around them instead of taking them head on and uprooting their seeds. Yet, their is a beauty to it all. There is a beauty in the chaos, there is music in the sounds of the crowd, there is rhythm in the life that flows through the crowd as they move in different directions always seeking; always running. And, there is respect and an inexplicable joy in the hearts of the people when they make it through another day without losing themselves.
Love for the monsoons come to each heart that has loved, that has lived, that has breathed and that has danced. It is the season of love when the peacocks come out and dance to the tune of the rains, when the trees and flowers are at the peak of their beauty. Monsoon is that time in the life of nature which is the age post-adolescence. Each year the nature is born, grows and withers in old age. Monsoon is the time of the year when the nature is at the peak of its youth. And, what beauty it has! It reminds us of our very own youth and the freshness of the heart. So, let's take that cup of 'chai' we talked about and sit back and admire as the nature parades and dances through the love season.
Copyright created on 23rd June 2011
Copyright created on 23rd June 2011
interesting & brilliantly expressed.
ReplyDeleteThanks Devki!
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