The monsoon is here finally. It arrived four days late but when it did, it came in full strength, unlike the last year when it was in short spurts.
As always, from mid May, our Met keeps giving hopes of the arrival of the monsoon predicting various dates and changing them due to unforeseen circumstances. No one takes them seriously anymore.
The rains this year are like what we used to have when we first moved to Pune in 1990. The first monsoon in our very own home was in 1991, though we moved into a furnished apartment for a few months in 1990 till we located and bought the flat in which we currently live. So, this is the 21st monsoon that we see here and bar two, they have all been good and normal.
One of the nicest things about the monsoon is that every thing around us gets refreshed and all the plants and the trees in the neighbourhood turn green and look cheerful! I am very serious. They do.
Every monsoon, till infarctions felled my late wife Urmeela, we used to go for a weekend to Mahabaleshwar, a nearby hill station to enjoy the rains there and to literally walk through the clouds. We used to have hot coal fire roasted corn on the cob from wayside vendors, hot tea and some amazing food hustled up exclusively for us in the hotel that we used to stay in as, during the rainy season, hardly any other guest would venture to this place.
The river Krishna originates from Mahabaleshwar and there is a Shiva temple built around the spring head. By the time the spring waters reach the plains 4500 feet below at Wai, the river has formed into a formidable force of water. In spate, the river can cause considerable damage as you will learn from the linked article.
Of the three main seasons for Pune, Summer, Monsoon and Winter, I prefer the monsoon from June to September. The climate is cool and wet but the air is fresh and there is greenery everywhere around. Urmeela and I used to love to sit in the verandah and watch the rain fall into our garden. We would have hot tea in the mornings and some hot snacks with tea if it was in the afternoons. I do not feel like doing that any more. I do sit in the mornings for my tea, but it is not quite the same.
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