Page 48 - GOTIL (ENG) Sample

16 Glimpses of Traditional Indian Life

twilight. Then storms come, interspersing semi-darkness
with lightning that momentarily and surrealistically
illuminates everything. The clouds growl and roar, the
first few drops of rain splatter down, and forceful torrents
quickly follow. The monsoon always begins spectacularly,
never merely drizzling, and the world rejoices.

At the onset of these rains, the dried-out earth suddenly
becomes green again. Cows enjoy fresh new grass that
springs up everywhere. And frogs also become inspired;
at night seemingly thousands of them make a cacophony
of croaking so loud that it’s difficult to sleep.

But the rains aren’t welcome for long, for they become
even more trying than summer’s heat. Sometimes it
pours almost constantly, with few intermissions, for days
on end. Everything gets sticky and wet. Clothes cannot
be dried properly and homes reek of rotting cloth. The
earth that was baked hard and cracked now becomes
dangerously slippery in some places, and in others turns
into sloughs of clinging mud so thick that if one steps
into it he gets stuck. The monsoon is a time of ill health.
The densely humid atmosphere, regular exposure to
rain, and frequent change of temperature and humidity
occasioned by stopping and starting rains, cause digestive
and stomach disorders. Contaminated drinking water
is often a problem, as it is impossible to keep mud and
sewage from mixing with rivers and ponds. The mosquito
population vastly increases. They constantly bite and
harass and sometimes form buzzing clouds. In some areas