India has a huge love affair with monsoon and we are presently in the throes of a good monsoon. It has been raining heavily in many parts of the country these days. From the time sun starts getting hotter in many parts of the country (April-May), experts and policy makers begin making calculations and doing forecasts of impending monsoon and its good or bad effects depending on its likely strength and reach.
Despite advancement in science and technology, dependence of Indian agriculture and the related allied economic activities on good and timely rains is still high. But the blessing of monsoon is not without its downside. Unfortunately rains also bring huge misery to large sections of population year after year as we have failed to evolve and execute an effective flood control mechanism, and further aggravated by human greed, disregard to nature and lack of regulatory controls. Having ignored the basic laws of nature conservation, we came to huge grief in Uttarakhand recently. Despite that, and through human resilience life goes on and that is how the romance of rains survives.
Our Hindi films have always been greatly smitten by rains. From the very early era of Indian cinema, this genre was invoked to create special dramatics. Sometimes heavy downpour was used for creating scenes of deluge as well leading to break-up of families or separation of brothers in the mêlée. But mostly the rain and rain songs were depicted to project yearning of the hearts of young lovers. One of the earliest scene was enacted in Raj Kapoor’s Barsat, with ‘Barsat me hum se mile tum sajan, tum se mile hum barsat me’ as an immortal piece. Again it was Raj Kapoor’s magic, which remains etched in our memory through those beautiful words, ‘Pyar hua iqrar hua / pyar se phir kyun darta hai dil’ in Shree 420 as the unforgettable romantic pair slowly walks down the street intently looking at each other under one umbrella.
One of the most romantic and adoring scene in a Hindi film was Bharat Bhushan singing ‘Zindagi bhar na bhulegi wo barsat ki raat’ for the bewitchingly beautiful Madhubala in Barsat Ki Ek Raat. The innocence of Sunil Dutt cannot be forgotten either when he is teaching Nutan to sing ‘Sawan ka mahina, pawan kare shor’ in Milan. Who will not vouch for the tenderness of the duet sung by Talat Mahmood and lata Mangeshkar, ‘Rim jhim ke ye pyare pyare geet liye’. later in the 70s we had numbers like ‘Ab ke sawan me ji dare/rim jhim tun pe paani gire’ and ‘Rim jhim gire sawan sulag sulag jaaye man’ or ‘Aaj rapatjaye to hume na bulayio’, the last two sung in films by inimitable Amitabh Bacchan.
But even before these faster songs we had such classic immortals as ‘Saawan ke jhule pade tum chale aao, bole re papiharaa’, and ‘Barkha bahaar aayee’ etc during the golden era of melodies and they have not lost their charm till today. All these and many other songs have become part of the Indian artistic and cultural context that often traverses linguistic and generational divide.
While heavy rains do hamper movements of vehicles on our roads and create civic problems in cities like traffic snarls etc, and often the result of inherently bad planning, design flaw, lack of maintenance of services. But they also bring much relief and cheer on most faces. The proverbial first showers of the monsoon are welcomed with merriment and joyfulness in Indian homes. The quantum and spread of monsoon varies. Many parts of the country, notably the North-East, the Andaman Islands, Kerala, Maharashtra and Goa get heavier rainfall compared to other regions.
Within weeks, the entire landscape becomes cleaner, fresher and greener, holding the promise of unfolding nature’s unmatched magnificence and splendour. The enticing romance of natural shower fills our hearts with joy even as the countryside starts looking more beautiful. There are some heavy-rain tourist destinations that have typically been marketed as ‘during season’ — so generally using the perception of ‘season’ or ‘off-season’ kind of marketing. This concept is now gradually changing with the realisation that monsoon itself may hold great attraction for certain groups of tourists.
Monsoon tourism is therefore slowly but surely catching up with the travel organisers and Government tourist corporations. The Western Ghats, the Eastern Ghats, Andaman and Goa and many coastal areas become fabulously lush green during the monsoon and present entrancing scenes of unparalleled beauty. With better roads, good accommodation and efficient transportation, there is no reason why these hitherto unproductive months may not become economically more rewarding and provide a steady source of income to people who depend on such vocation.