Monsoons - Magic or Mayhem?

 

This post is my humble attempt at making sense of the mayhem unleashed by the monsoons this year. Incredible amount of water has rained from the skies, especially over the Indian subcontinent. So much that Delhi has surpassed its annual average with 4 months to spare, which is a rare achievement given the drought-like conditions that prevail every other year. 

Dark rain-laden clouds that brought a lot of precipitation 

And it is an El Nino year, that is touted as a phenomenon where the warming of the Pacific leads to hotter temperatures throughout the year.  The part that is conveniently ignored is its impact on the rains. Because hotter does not mean drier...

Cute snails in our local park

El Nino years have always had significantly more severe rainfall and cyclones, leading to waterlogging, floods, and typhoons in many places, and resulting in massive losses of life and livelihood. Yet we prefer to be tone deaf when it comes to a climate change conversation. Till we end up with something catastrophic like what happened in Nepal. I believe glacial melting would also be higher in the El Nino years but no warnings are ever issued. 

My only wish is to live in a world where technology is used more to benefit mankind - with accurate predictions, timely warnings, and faster disaster response being the benchmark. Unfortunately the world we are currently inhabiting seems to treat humans as entirely dispensable.

I love the magic of the monsoons, as you can see from the pictures in this post. But I am seriously worried about the mayhem it is causing in our part of the world.

Mid-year Update

 

A little over a year in our home city, and life has been a mixed bag. We survived an intense summer, struggling with niggling health issues. 

But thankfully, most of my plants are thriving despite the soaring temperatures. Especially the old and sturdy ones - like umbrella palm, hibiscus, Swiss cheese plant, and jasmine. Though I did lose some pothos and chrysanthemums in the horrendous summer heat. Made up by planting some chillies and bitter gourd in containers, hoping to recreate my passion of growing our own food. However, the paucity of space is a big challenge here.

Meanwhile, there has been incessant rain this year, and subsequent waterlogging over most of Delhi-NCR. After years I am seeing parks full of water, and can hear the frogs croaking through the night without worrying about finding one or two inside my home. We  can finally enjoy the rains again! 

As the skies darken at midday with rain- laden clouds, it feels like living in a rainforest, as the son rightly said. Thankful for the choices made and the decisions taken last year.

The iconic Charbagh as seen from the Lucknow metro 

We also made a couple of weekend trips over the last two months. I felt they were easier to do from Delhi somehow, perhaps because of lesser travel time and better connection. 

Inside Keoladeo in Bharatpur 

Hoping the remaining months of the year go by well. Fingers crossed! 

Balcony Bliss

 

I am currently rediscovering the joys of a balcony. After living on the ground floor for the last half a dozen years, I am happy to be strung at treetop level again. 

Maroon chrysanthemums brightening my balcony 

Though I miss the expansive garden from our last home, including our backyard and veggie patch, the simplicity of container gardening has its own charm.

Parakeets are frequent visitors

Most days the first neighbours I see and hear are the feathered varieties. With open skies and a multitude of trees facing one balcony, birding comes as an in-house advantage.

A glimpse of the greens through the frosted window 

While the second balcony faces the road and a row of apartments, my greens give me ample opportunities to enjoy the space.

Republic Day flypast 

And on Republic Day, we viewed some amazing flypast by our armed forces since those beauties zoomed past right in front of our balcony.