Chasing the Monsoon

VS Naipaul once quipped "India has an infinite patience for plunder". Ever since I read that, it made me wonder where did that patience come from.

Put another way, why are we so susceptible to all kinds of people making all kinds of predictions and propitiations?

The Monsoon's Unpredictability

Part of the answer may be monsoons. The enormous life-giving force of monsoons coupled with its unpredictability may be why. The Indian monsoon is perhaps one of the most unpredictable weather phenomena. And yet it occurs every year, but with high variability.

This book is by an English journalist who literally chases the monsoon during Rajiv Gandhi years, when his government was facing the Khalistani terror in Delhi, and a prospect of successive droughts over multiple monsoon seasons.

A Journey Through India

He weaves some naval history, some contemporary politics, the hopes and aspirations of people waiting for monsoons, the weather men frantically predicting the onset of the monsoon, homeless and slum dwellers dueling the cruel monsoons in Bombay, and even an occasional mango or two.

He traces his chase starting from Trivandrum to Kollam to Kochi to Ernakulam to Goa to Ratnagiri to Bombay to Bengal to Guwahati and ends in Cherrapunji.

The Longing

I was left longing for petrichor and the sweet monsoon breeze and clouds of dark clouds cooling things down and slow heavy rains.

Loved the book.