Truant monsoons

Finally its raining a bit and theres much needed relief from the heat and humidity.But we need it to pour all over to avoid serious problems for the rest of the year.This dependence on the monsoons sucks and is like a lottery at times.Good monsoons means a happy year,a bad one spells misery.Somehow I wish we could get out of this dependence,but then that would need a long term perspective from our rulers and our people..The fact is that in spite of an abundance of water we have failed miserably in providing enough for our needs without the help of the monsoon rains.We have not invested in rain harvesting and small bunds in villages.We allow massive wastages and theft and the increase in crops that need huge amounts of water.We build bigger and bigger dams as monuments to our egos but which finally have not delivered the much needed relief to the parched areas on a sustained basis..A country as arid as Israel is able to produce fruits and vegetables and has turned the desert green though hydroponics and the judicious use of water.We on the other hand believe in turning forests into desert and green areas into wasteland.There is no national conciousness that water is a finite resource and needs to be harvested and coaxed and encouraged to regenerate.Somehow it gives me a hopeless feeling as in all else that is not right in this country of ours...

The rains a pain

Its mid-june and no sign of rain yet.The cloying humidity slows down everything including updating blogs.Wonder how much worse it can get.I was trying a small exercise the other day and thinking as far back as I could like they do in the movies with pages of a calendar flapping in the breeze.I have a robust memory of the time I was 3,4 and 5 years old and recall many of the incidents from way back then.I remember how hot Benares(now Varanasi) was.The house we lived in on the main road in Bhelu Pura.And in the heat the road being retarred.The smell of turpentine and bitumen was overwhelming and I would stand at the gate watching the road roller with facination.I remember my eyes falling on a perfect, shiny black ball of tar near the gate which glistered in the hot afternoon sun.Inevitably I opened the iron gate and edged towards it and then hunkered over the treasure wondering what it could be.I remember giving it a gentle, tentative poke and was amazed to see the surface dimple and then regain its smoothness.Again and again my little fingers tested the resilience of the magic ball until one poke too many broke the surface tension of the tar and my fingers slipped in.I recall the panic and the desperate attempts to get the goo off.The more I tried the more I spread the black stuff all over my face and hair.The unequal battle ended with me looking like the tar baby and pandemonium in the house.Paraffin and cold creams were used to remove the clinging tar and suitably chastised I was put under "Attock"(sitting silently with face to wall) for 2 hours.
The house had a flat roof where I would often go when cool to watch the world go by,and next to the house was a playing field where apart from the occassional football matches,RSS parades were held every weekend.I used to crouch on the roof and watch this display of martial enthusiasm where young men in khaki shorts and white shirts would march up and down with sticks.I waited for the final moments where all would stand at attention,put their right palms vertically on their chest and recite the RSS credo.In fact I learnt the whole recitation and would chant along with them from my loft.The only thing was that my version was meaningless gibberish,sounds picked up by a kid which mean nothing.But it sounded exactly like the original if you didnt listen too closely to the words.To this day my aunty Karuna remembers parts of my version(as I do) and remembers how seriously I used to recite it.When I sometimes now see RSS and BJP leaders on TV at similar parades, chanting, it all comes flooding back...but its still meaningless gibberish!!!
I MUST talk about how I ran away with a girlfriend in Benares...but Ill save that for another hot day.