Mansoon arrives!

It started raining today. Mansoon is on schedule. As the summer advances and the temperature increases, we start looking east, hoping for the pre-mansoon clouds. They do oblige by middle or third week of May, and suddenly dark clouds are seen one hot afternoon followed by thunder showers which bring down the temperature but increase humidity.

With the the premansoon showers, the anticipation begins. We first hear of the mansoon when the weather department locates it somewhere off the west coast and announce the same. It is follwed by the news of the mansoon arriving in Kerala and the the anticipation increases. In another day or two the rains arrive in Goa like a honoured guest and all of a sudden, ah, it is so very cool and refreshing.

I have been in Goa for nearly three decades now, and every year I experience the same anticipation and pleasure. I rejoice over the arrival of rains. I wonder at the way nature works and am always thankful that inspite of we taking liberties with our planet the nature continues to pamper us.

A week of rain and everything will be clean and green. Water supply is assured for another year. When ever I read about deforestation, global warming , green house effect, so on and so forth, I start worrying whether the nature will forgive us. I consider the arrival of mansoon as the nature's way of saying "Ok, you are pardoned this time" and wonder how long it is going to remain considerate?