Thursday, July 18, 2019

Awaiting the Rain Gods’ Blessings on the Abode of Gods -Mount Abu, 18 July 2019

Abuites are apprehensive, as, like most places in Rajasthan, water scarcity is a bitter reality.

“In Mount Abu, hope rises faster than the water level.”

Some years, the rain comes like an old friend -

early, certain, and full of stories.

This year, it lingers at the edge of memory.

sending only a few hurried showers,

While Mount Abu waits,

Thirst and faith are intertwined.

In Mount Abu, July brings the reassuring drumroll of rain on tiled rooftops, misty mornings, and the earthy perfume of wet soil drifting through the streets. But this year, the skies have been silent. The town, known as the gods’ dwelling, is watching the horizon, hoping the Rain Gods recall their vow.

 Like most of Rajasthan, water scarcity here is not an abstract worry, but a lived reality. For many Abuites, the prior weeks of the monsoon are the difference between relief and rationing. Shopkeepers in the bazaar discuss the reservoirs and wells.

Still, nature has offered a slight gesture of kindness. A couple of fierce thunderstorms swept in earlier this month, drenching the slopes with 10 inches of rain. It was enough to cool the air, send a shiver of green racing across the hillsides, and coax plants and grass into vigorous growth. Even the jacaranda and Golden Shower trees — spring’s show-offs — have broken tradition, blooming now defies the calendar, adding bursts of purple and gold to the landscape.

Cassia fistula - Golden Shower tree
Cassia fistula - Golden Shower tree 


Jacaranda tree
Jacaranda tree 

Wild dates of Mount Abu
Wild dates of Mount Abu

But the joy is fragile. Meteorologists say the monsoon is pausing, and INSAT-3D satellite pictures imply the pause could be lengthy. Predictions indicate that the rains will return in earnest during the second week of August. Until then, the air remains thick with both humidity and uncertainty.

 Curiously, there were no ceremonies to call the rain gods this year. Perhaps people have grown weary of theatrics, choosing instead a quieter hope — the kind that waits without fanfare, trusting that the clouds will give in. In the meantime, Abu carries on: children cycle through puddles left by the last storm, cattle graze on fresh shoots, and the hills, though thirsty, hold on to their green.

 The town expects — as it always does — the monsoon’s downpour and its holy cleansing of the hills.


Monsoon break condition
Monsoon break condition 

To read more on the monsoons in Abu, click the link below



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