Cloud Messenger

Image courtesy: Varun Iyer 2014

"Mom," said my son pointing to the clouds as we watched the evening sun, "Do you notice how big and dark the clouds are getting every evening?"

"Hmm...," I said, not wanting to miss a teaching moment, "what do you think is happening?"

"Global warming. Clouds are getting bigger. Rain is pelting us daily. Yet, we have drought. Water is a big mystery."

"And why is it a mystery?"

"What happened to our snow in winter? And why does it hail now in summer?"

"Climate change," I agreed.

I chose teaching moment instead of an experience moment. That moment would have included the wonderful work of Kalidasa on the cloud messenger. You can read the English summary of the poem here, but it is certainly not the same. Not close.

And it would have been a good moment to talk about music- ragas associated with rain...Tansen's soaking success...the folk predictions associated with cloud watching...and many more...In a class it is easy to teach. You need to work only on the teaching moment. At home, I need to stretch time to encapsulate both. I am learning. I am trying.

All tips are welcome!

Raining Indoors!

Image courtesy: NY Dailynews


When I was in Elementary school, we lived in a home with clay-tiled roof. We shared the roof with sparrows, lizards, crow, and even some mice. We shared the floor with several other critters. Every morning, the sparrows would stir around 4 am with fabulous chirping songs. I loved it! I love it. When I need to do something that requires long hours of concentrated efforts, I play some bird chirping in the background. Our window was fortunately open. Always open for fresh air. It was a cement slab with designs and more holes than the dosa my mother made.

Every monsoon, both the birds and humans were distressed. The pitter-patter on the roof caused water to seep into the birds nest and sometimes it fell down, eggs and all. Distress for both of us. 

During rains, all our books were covered with our raincoats and anything plastic we could find. Now, my books are all over the house. The rolled-up beds was stacked on top of the bench covered with stitched plastic sheets from several rice bags by my resourceful mom. All our buckets were used, as were all the empty vessels from the kitchen, down to the tumbler. Sometimes the water was up to our ankles. Nobody was exempt from work. I remember how our red-oxide floor shone at the end of the washing and mopping. The streaks of rain left their mark on the walls and the soaked tiles took a long time to dry causing some mold to grow on the wood. We have seen mushroom grow on the wood. After one particularly heavy downpour, not a single room in the house was free of dripping. We were out of vessels to hold water. All rags were wet. The thunderstorm continued unabated all through the night. We went to sleep standing.

Next morning, my father went house hunting.

All this came back to me in rush this week when we encountered a similar situation at work. Our roof literally caved in! Water poured. We moved boxes in amazing speed. Mopped floor. Threw the collected water out. And gave a collective sigh of relief when the rain abated...

Will my supervisor go office hunting?

Any guesses there?
   

Daily Double

Image courtesy: Wiki Commons


Rainfall everyday is fantastic. I love the #sunshine in the day. No complaints at all.  The #rainfall at night is a wonderful closure to the day. I can stand by the #window and watch the rain for hours. I watch the light display with a grin. So much grandeur on display for everyone! Nature is always happening. It is always displaying. When the rolling thunder rattles the roof and possibly the Earth under me, I wonder if the Earth is shaking too.

One thought lingers...it is a brain thing, a pattern that you recognize with more awareness. It is hot during the day...cold during the night...no snow in winter...thunderstorm in the evening..water, brown and swirling, and rushing down the drain, into culverts, creeks and rivers...right into the sea...water no more...

Spring is just here and the State of Washington has already declared #Drought

http://www.ecy.wa.gov/drought/

Kind people, please put your hands together in prayer for our forests, wildlife, waters, crops, and people. While we do everything that is humanly possible, we still need a bit of cosmic help to keep us going until next year. 

Thank you! 

Rainfall to rejoice!

Image courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

#Monsoon is my favorite season. #Snowfall too. In fact, I am fascinated with all aspects of #watercycle. I think it should be taught to kids of all ages to understand that our water cycle is #locked. 

Locked?

This is it. We have no "other" water to save us. Our water cycle is a global unifier. Water from Florida can collect into the clouds, sail all the way to flow into waters of the #Nile. Water from Caribbean can travel to North America. Water has no boundaries. It is dynamic force that follows only itself.

Every time it rains, I wonder...Where did these clouds travel from? May be it has the molecules from the sacred Ganga or the mighty Niagara...It probably has molecules from ancient past that sages meditated and offered for peace to reign on Earth...Endless possibilities...Eternal wonder...

 #Seasons come and seasons go, but #rainfall and #monsoon has always been my favorite one.

How about you?