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| http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:India_southwest_summer_monsoon_onset_map_en.svg#file |
The monsoon is coming. It's raining a little this evening after being cloudy much of the day. The local pundits tell me that this is really the "pre - monsoon" time - a few days to a week of cloud and occasional sprinkles and light showers before the heavy rains of the true monsoon.
Everybody is excited and watchfully anticipating the coming of the rain - even or maybe especially - the locals. Of course it hasn't rained since early October.
I found myself and my colleagues looking out the window at the clouds trying to anticipate exactly when they would give their blessings on us.
I found myself and my colleagues looking out the window at the clouds trying to anticipate exactly when they would give their blessings on us.
It's been interesting observing the weather the last couple of months. People warned us that April and May would be the really hot summer months before the monsoon came. April was hot with temps during the middle of the day in the mid to upper 90's most days, but that heat only lasted a few hours and the early morning and late evenings were really not too bad, with a gently breeze and temps in the high seventies. When May came, so too did the humidity. The high temperatures weren't as hot, usually around 90 degrees, though it felt just as hot or even hotter with the heat index in the 100's. The big difference to me was that the evenings and early mornings only cooled to the mid eighties and the humidity remained high. The last few days have been just a little cooler as we all await the coming "rains".
A couple of things surprised me about this "Indian Summer":
The first was the number of trees that flower in so many colours during the hottest part of the year!
Yellows and reds seem to proliferate, though there are lots of shades of white and even pink. Seemed strange to us to be in such hot weather with the blossoms on the trees.
The second was the fact that the air is so seldom still, so that on most days sitting in the shade with a little breeze is quite bearable even when walking around in the sun may not be.
Finally, I had forgotten that April and May are the summer months for the local schools here. As we are winding down the school year, they finished two months ago and are ready to resume. Rakesh pointed out some school kids this morning in their new school uniforms. Some of the schools restarted this week.
A couple of things surprised me about this "Indian Summer":
The first was the number of trees that flower in so many colours during the hottest part of the year!
Yellows and reds seem to proliferate, though there are lots of shades of white and even pink. Seemed strange to us to be in such hot weather with the blossoms on the trees.
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| http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Yellow_poinciana_full_bloom_20110518.jpg |
The second was the fact that the air is so seldom still, so that on most days sitting in the shade with a little breeze is quite bearable even when walking around in the sun may not be.
Finally, I had forgotten that April and May are the summer months for the local schools here. As we are winding down the school year, they finished two months ago and are ready to resume. Rakesh pointed out some school kids this morning in their new school uniforms. Some of the schools restarted this week.
