Was it just two weeks back that I painted a word picture of pleasant November? Well, it is not pleasant, not anymore. It is dark, wet, cold and windy.

The hibiscus bush, the one which had grown quite tall, all leaves and no flowers, has toppled over. To think only a few days back I had spoken quite sternly to it! What do you mean merely shooting up with only shiny green leaves on show? How about putting out a few blooms, like the miniature pink hibiscus over there? And then the other smaller bush, competing valiantly with the first one in growing tall, but ending up looking like a gangly teenager. It has fallen too.

The papaya tree is holding up strong. Not so the mossanda in the corner, well shielded by the mango tree. Who’d have thunk it would keel over too? The lantana in pots have followed suit. These are of course, minor things. They can all be helped back on to their feet tomorrow  with a little trimming here, and a little support there when the rain lets up for a bit.

What’s worrying is the more serious havoc the rain is causing to those staying near the seashore and in low lying areas. This rain and the accompanying strong winds are the doings of Cyclone Ockhi (a depression over the Bay of Bengal which intensified into a cyclone). As of now it is moving away from our coast towards Lakshadweep, I am told). But more rains have been predicted in the coming days though of lesser intensity.

Trivia: Ockhi has been named by Bangladesh and means ‘eye’. I have been reading up a bit about names given to cyclones and found that the previous one was called ‘Mora’ and was named by Thailand. The next one will be named by India, and it will be called Sagar. 

The wind has been banging doors and windows, rattling roofs and spraying rain water in through open windows and doors all day. I cannot imagine the plight of those living in less secure conditions. And the homeless. It’s cold. Of course, when I say ‘cold’ I mean it by our (tropical) standards and is not to be compared with the cold of the really cold places.  So yeah, November has suddenly turned from the pleasant to unpleasant. Let’s hope the clouds lift soon.

©Shail Mohan 2017

And that brings me to the end of #NaBloPoMo2017. Thank you all for reading. 🙂