Monsoon Update–11 August 2018 | Mount Abu

When the monsoon skips the Abode of the Gods, hope rises with smoke and prayer—will the skies listen?

Snapshot INSAT pic  2018-08-11 at 10.31.51 AM

Mount Abu waits under a restless sky. The heavy monsoon rains promised by the Met Department have dissolved into nothing but haze. Dry winds sweep across the hills, our streams whisper, and Nakki Lake stares back with a cracked, thirsty gaze. Reservoirs stand low, and if the heavens don’t open soon, Abuites may face a grim year of severe water rationing.

 Anxious and hopeful, the locals and the Abu Municipality have turned to tradition, lighting a Havan to call upon the rain gods. Smoke spirals upward as prayers rise with it, seeking mercy from the skies. Yet Skymet’s forecast remains bleak. For now, all we can do is wait, watch, and hope that the closing days of August or early September will drench this sacred hill with life-giving rain.

 Nature’s unpredictability has become the new normal, a warning etched into dry riverbeds and shrinking lakes. Mount Abu’s struggle is part of a larger story—one where climate change affects everyone. Perhaps this is the time to pair prayer with action: to value every drop, protect our forests, and treat our fragile hills with care. Only then can we hope that when the rains return, the land is ready to nurture and care for itself.