MONSOON

I have observed that the croaking of frogs, the chirping of birds and mooing of cows herald the arrival of the South-west monsoon. A few days after these signals the rains would begin accompanied with heavy thunder and bright flashes of lightning. The lightning ignited the white houses, and then blew them out. One day we even witnessed a huge coconut tree on fire as it was struck by lightning. It was such a powerful thunder that it even shook the very foundation of our ‘Mana’ scaring all the children. I vividly remember the day when I scrambled into the kitchen cupboard out of fear when all the younger children ran and cuddled on to our ‘Ammachi’. 

During the south-west monsoon commencing from mid May to mid August the sky is always overcast. The initial few rains bring down all the dust and dirt from the air, trees and roof-tops. This dirties the courtyard; later, more torrential showers would tidy it. It is not advisable to go out during the first drizzle or rain due to the higher pollution levels. One is sure to catch a chill, and perhaps even a cold and fever followed by a heavy cough.

We had ponds and canals in our compound. These were scientifically excavated to preserve rain water for use during the summer.  Fish like Climbing Perch (Karoop) and Striped Snake Head (Varal) were in plenty. They swam out of the uncleaned canals and ponds and moved towards the low gurgling streams looking for fresh water sources. People used to  would wait at the ‘Kazhuva’, which were small breaches on the bunds, with a ball net to catch these fish. Jacob and I used to join them. Sometimes when the ‘Karoop’ fish moved through our courtyard we could easily pick them up. During these transits, they would fall prey to cats, dogs and birds of prey which feed on them. I have seen the rat snakes gobble them up. I noticed that these fish could stay out of water for a long time.

There is a chance of getting ten dry spells between the middle of August and mid September. Certain years Onam, the State Festival falls during the dry spell or days for people to celeberate it. The north-east monsoon commences in October, and continues up to the middle of November.

Excerpts from

MEMOIRS

by

Joseph J. Thayamkeril

Lawyer, Kochi, Kerala, India.

josephjthayamkeril@gmail.com