30th May, 2017

It rained today, and oh boy! How it rained today! There is always something pretty immersive about torrential rain as it comes down in sheets. The word immersive may be tossed about both ways. Apart from literally doing what it implies, it severs all visual connection one has with the surroundings. With sheets of water shimmering which ever way one looks, the sense of isolation from one's known surroundings is immediate. One becomes an island. The cut off is almost absolute and well, immersive.

The only noise is the constant drumming that immerses all other noises. It's a relief of sorts, however, for the ears not to listen to the normal cacophony of urban sounds. In such situations the normal impulse is to look within, immerse oneself in one's memories and appreciate and feel thankful for whatever nuggets of gold are found there. So much for immersions!

No rain experience is complete without getting thoroughly wet. Our balcony, facing south west, is always inundated in such rains. So it's the best place to get wet. The mango tree, at the front, which has been stubbornly growing wild for the past seven years or so, is yet to bear any fruit. It whispers, murmurs and shows a high degree of animation as the water cascades down and the wind becomes playful. It no longer seems saddened by it's own ieffectual existence. After the rains, washed of its grime, it will look fresh and new, as if shining with new hope.

All of this train of events and thoughts has been triggered by cyclone Mora. Rearing up in the Bay of Bengal it wreaked vengeance on Bangladesh. We felt just a watered down part of it. Lives were lost there, homes destroyed, people displaced. And for us it was just another downpour to bring some relief from the sweltering heat.