Monsoon Rain...

Dear Reader friends,

ಶುರುವಾಗಿದೆ ಮುಂಗಾರು ಮಳೆ

ಚಿಗುರುತಿದೆ ಎಲ್ಲೆಲ್ಲೂ ಜೀವಕಳೆ

ತುಂಬಿ ಹರಿಯುತಿವೆ ನೀರಿನ ಹೊಳೆ

ಜನರಲ್ಲಿ ಬಿತ್ತಿದೆ ಆಶಯದ ಬೆಳೆ 

(Monsoon rain brings much needed respite to Indian subcontinent after the scorching summer which spans from March to June every year. The temperature dips, the rivers start flowing, ground starts getting wet and soft, water table increases, brings back the greenery among plants, and infuses a new lease of life in living organisms especially humans.)

Good monsoon rains bring fresh hope among farming community and they get into action of producing adequate food for the 125 crore populace. Better agricultural produce means good income for farming community, growth for country’s economy, adequate food supply with lesser inflation for common people. I can go on and on…But my intention is different…

There is no doubt I am also one among our countrymen who eagerly wait for monsoon. The first occurrence of rain brings so much of happiness in me that I don’t mind getting drenched. The cool wind which accompanies the rain is so soothing. The rain jacket will be on whenever I go out and the blankets come out of boxes. But Monsoon rain brings another shade for me! You might have witnessed with rain comes gloominess which engulfs the entire atmosphere around oneself. When I am alone (and I prefer to be alone in such weather) my thoughts go into retrospective mode down deeper into the memory lane. Though I recollect lot of happier moments spent during earlier monsoon seasons but the ones which seek my attention usually are – the moments of lost opportunities (some because of my own inabilities, some because of others mistakes, some because of the situation I was in), the moments of defeats, the moments of let downs, the moments when someone very dear at that time parted ways, the moments when something important was taken away. If you are surprised after reading this and started thinking negatively about me then I don’t blame you because my thought process has always been like that. I do ponder about those past moments when I was at receiving end or in an uncomfortable state of mind. I could recollect few of those situations which I would have avoided by taking better decisions, which happened because of my prejudice or lack of courage and which might be totally out of my control. Each one of them brings at least one thing to learn for sure which gets added to my ever growing basket of experience but some of them raise questions - why it happened to me? Did I really deserve that? Why things just not happen to me as they seem to happen for others? Many questions stir my mind like anything…For some I wouldn’t be having any particular answer. What to do?

But past is past! Whenever I get into such retrospective mode and my mind start asking such questions, the most important thing would be to find a way to come out of that! You may agree there are lot of ways to do that and I usually find one every time I get into that gloomy mode. I don’t want to elaborate on those ways but I can draw an analogy here, getting into such retrospective mode is like taking your dirty clothes to laundry. The clothes first should get washed with water for removing dirt and then they should be dried and pressed so that they get fit for next wearing. Similarly after getting wet in gloomy weather whenever Sun (or any fresh/encouraging moment) comes next time beating all the clouds my mind also gets fresher like the washed and ironed cloth. 

As I started with a poem, I would like to end in similar lines 

ಸದಾ ಬೆಳೆಯುತಿರಲಿ ಸಂತಸದ ಬೆಳೆ

ಏಂದೆಂದೆಗೂ ಬತ್ತದೆ ಇರಲಿ ನಗುವಿನ ಹೊಳೆ

ಎಲ್ಲ ಕಡೆಗೂ ಹರಡಲಿ ಜಯದ ಜೀವಕಳೆ

ಮತ್ತೆ ಮತ್ತೆ ಬರುತ್ತಿರಲಿ ಮುಂಗಾರು ಮಳೆ

(I wish the harvest of happiness keep coming out without stop, let the river of happiness flow all the times, let there be life of victory everywhere, let the Monsoon Rain keep coming again and again...)

Thanks and Regards,

Chetan