ChinmayC Blog

When we returned to Kolkata by the third week of January 2023 we hoped we still had a chance of catching the winter that we miss most often due to our compulsory visits to Maharashtra. As per our own experience in previous years in the city of joy the month of February could still be cold or even chilly if you're lucky! We had the stock of the woollens ready to welcome us in. However, to our utter disappointment the temperatures kept on climbing making the use of all my sweaters, jackets, blazers and so on an wasted thought. The summer looked to be around very early this time. In fact, in several regions of the country there were heat waves! February heat waves, imagine!  Early March we came to Assam as another integral part of our compulsive itinerary. The first few days were almost the same in terms of heat, except that the nights were much cooler, but still not enough to justify the use of sweaters one of which I carried in my bag as a reasonable discretion. From the 15th of tha...

Climate change and global warming are by now household words, and more frighteningly, the impact of these terms have been cruelly discernible in the daily lives of the citizens in many parts of India and the world. The world leaders must understand the deadly reality of our only habitat getting hotter and hotter by the day, and if this is not checked immediately by whatever possible means in our command this planet is set to be uninhabitable very soon, sooner than we think. The South West Monsoon, still the mainstay of agriculture in India, has been uneven this year in the extremes—some traditionally dry regions getting excess rains to a huge extent, some regions getting their full quota delivered in a matter of days and some traditionally wet regions still not having a monsoon with its usual flow and downpours. Therefore, in all such cases the monsoon is not helping the farmers at all, and on the other hand, people in many areas with scarce rainfall are suffering from continuous heat ...

That evening in end-July a Bangla family friend came to our house in Kolkata profusely sweating and drenched in it from head to foot. However he was carrying with him a packet of smoking hot beguni (Brinjal fritters) and Chops (Cutlet fritters). Before he could cool himself enough under the full-speed ceiling fan he commanded us to partake of the items before those cooled off! And yes, we had those gobbled up quick in extraordinary gourmet delight and also supported by hot steaming cups of tea! Well, in our traditional belief that ‘heat neutralizes heat’, particularly when the heat (like May) is oppressively humid (like monsoon)! This dictum is of the utmost importance now, because the supposedly wettest months of the South West Monsoon, June and July, have gone with absolutely no rains in South Bangla and Kolkata city. In fact, the month of July has proved to be the driest July in history in the Eastern and North Eastern regions of the country. And into August now, there’s hardly any...

The South West Monsoon has always been the mainstay of Indian agriculture, being the main source of rainfall accounting for more than 75% of total rainfall in the country every year. Most often than not, the IMD (Indian Meteorological Department) forecasts a normal or near-normal monsoon with about -/+ 5% margin of error, and this year (2022) too it had predicted a normal monsoon which, in fact, was supposed to arrive at least a week in advance. And, it did indeed arrive early hitting the Andaman and Nicobar Islands by middle of May, and then advancing to Kerala, to Maharashtra and gradually the whole country. Unfortunately, its early arrival hasn’t benefited even Kerala and Maharashtra, patiently queuing up for the early-bird offers,  while venting its wrath in the North East, particularly in the state of Assam creating unprecedented floods in the main city of Guwahati and many other districts. In a few days the monsoon had exceeded its monthly quota of rains in Assam by more than...

The heavy showers in Mumbai city and some adjacent area in the first week of July seemed to indicate that the monsoon finally caught the rhythm and we hoped that rains would be regular for the rest of the season. But no, the inexplicable unwillingness to pour showed up again from mid-July, particularly in areas of Thane district. The skies, as in the month of June, remained mostly gloomy with floating clouds contributing to the uncomfortable humidity. Even though the temperatures were below 33 degree Celsius the real feel with 80—90% humidity was around 38 degree! At times, the skies blackened hopefully with occasional soothing sounds of thunder, but mostly it petered out without pouring. There were, of course, a few incidents of showers, but not up to the desired intensity and consistency. And now, the obvious happened! Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) announced a 20% water cut from 5 th August, valid not only for Mumbai city but also for parts of Thane and Bhiwandi. Very h...

Finally, the South West Monsoon has decided to respect the forecasts issued by the Met department, and in line with the orange alert forecast for Mumbai and adjacent areas during 3-5 July 2020 moderate to heavy rains lashed Mumbai, its suburbs, Thane city and interior areas of Thane district. The aimless clouds hanging over the areas for nearly a month, in Palghar the rains came after a full month, finally became benevolent and converted into a rain-bearing dark mass. The sight of the dark clouds was really inspiring and the impact was immediate with the maximum temperature coming down to 28-29 from 33-34 degree Celsius and the minimum coming down to 25-26 from 27-28 in Mumbai while in Thane city those are 30-31 and 27-28 respectively. The humid heat that tormented the people for weeks evaporated and all heaved a sigh of relief—stay-home becoming more pleasant in view of more curbs being imposed in Mumbai and a total lockdown in Thane for 10 days. The rains started on the 3 rd of Jul...