Where Have All The Rain Clouds Gone?

Wonder where the rain clouds have disappeared. No rains this side of the country. Farmers are waiting with baited breath in the hope that the rains will breathe life to a failing crop in an already bleak scenario. The weatherman blames it all on El Nino. Rains are the lifeblood of our Indian farmers and hope for housewives that vegetable prices will come down. But with the monsoon playing truant all this seems a remote possiblity.

The days are more sultry than ever and the much wanted respite from the heat seems reduced to just wishful thinking! The singing koel (cuckoos) and dancing peacocks have suddenly made themselves scarce or are they hiding far from sight to beat the heat of a prolonged summer?

The two of us generally take a nice long walk with the first shower of rain and love to drench ourselves down to the bone, if you will! It's good fun to do so and forget your age for a change this one day of the year as we enjoy the first showers of monsoon like kids and then come home to enjoy a good cup of hot coffee or mug full of hot soup.

But this year its a different story. It's already the 8th of July and no rain so to speak. The cuckoo's cry has a distant quality, or do I hear a cuckoo call its mate while still urging the rains to come on with a parched throat?

I'd rather be positive and not give up hope that the much awaited rain showers will soon make their appearance and cool down the place. We still have three weeks of July and the whole of August to hang on to hope like never before and look forward to the thrill of getting wet like children once again!