We have had a respite from the rains these last two days. When I say rain, it was like someone up there sitting on the clouds had upturned huge buckets of water on us. The roar was such, I had to shout to be heard by the L&M who was in the same room. These rains, which started mid-October, and will peter out by mid-November, are the northeast monsoons and the second part of the rainy season (the first, from June to August/September is the southwest monsoon).

It has been a long haul this year. The rain has been continuous, the two parts running into each other, joined by some low pressure over the ocean contributing to more rain. So the couple of sunny days, albeit partially cloudy, were most welcome. A neighborhood boy was commissioned to deal with the weeds which had grown thick and tall. Sheets were washed and put out on the lines to dry. While at it, I took Luci‘s bed out to air as well. But, the moment I did that, the brightness of the sun dimmed. Oh no. Don’t tell me the sun is up to his old tricks again, I thought. Every time I wash sheets or put things out to air, the sun takes off on a holiday.

By lunch time the sky had darkened so much that I wondered if it was okay to sit down for lunch and expect not to be disturbed. Naah. Better take everything in and then sit down to lunch. There was erisseri, plus fish and some leftover biriyani from yesterday’s lunch, all my favorites. I’d rather enjoy it in peace than have to run upstairs mid-meal.  So I brought them all inside. But guess what, it didn’t rain after all.

Late evening, strolling on the terrace, I watched firecrackers erupt all around. It was a silent display, which meant they were quite far. Today being dry worked out for those bursting crackers. Most years we end up with a damp Diwali. My neighborhood though, was mysteriously quiet. Had Diwali not reached those living here, I wondered. I needn’t have. At precisely 10 o’clock, the silence was broken, boom–boom–BOOM-bam-tissssh-tash-KABOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-bam-boom-tissssh-tash-KABOOM-boom-KABOOM-BOOM-bam, sending Luci and her canine friends in the locality into a barking frenzy. They probably though the world was coming to an end. So much for the Supreme Court order saying no to fireworks after 10 p.m. 

The walk had made me warm all over or may be it was my anger at people disobeying rules. I wished it would rain. Two days of sun and here I was, already missing the rains! I looked up at the sky. There was not a single star to be seen. Instead I saw clouds gathering. ‘It’s not over!’, the sky seemed to be telling me. And sure enough, the first tentative drops started falling as I walked downstairs.

©Shail Mohan 2018