Rains at last!

I grew up in North Karnataka in a section of the state where our town was blessed with good weather all year round. During the monsoons, rains were plenty turning our sizeable garden into a lush verdant patch. Quite mercifully, summers were mild.

I remember the times when I was growing up when the skies opened up and a torrential downpour ensued. One end of our garden was at a slight incline compared to the other, and I remember watching water mixed in mud gush from one end to the other. I remember watching that muddy water and thinking what an uncanny resemblance it had to the tea we drank every day. Same color; vastly different taste. Somehow that fascinated me.

Over the years the weather has been less kind, the rains less plentiful, the heat more scorching than ever. When I pay a visit these days, the garden is just a pale shadow of its former self. Like a family who enjoyed better days, but has fallen on hard times lately. Water is rationed and folks in town feel blessed when it comes at the appointed time. A favorite activity is to scour the local newspaper for news about the next supply of water. It happens to be a favorite topic of conversation when neighbors meet as well.

So when I called my mom last night, almost the first words out of her mouth was news about the rains that had brightened everyones lives. She gushed about how the garden looks better than it has in years. And how much it had rained the past few weeks. I could tell she was happy and so was I.