Monsoon in the Western Ghats
It is the typical November Bangalore weather now - winter is setting in, it is mostly cloudy with drizzles and there is that nip in the air. Makes you want to wind down, cuddle up with the family, read, play board games, leave the curtains open and let the dull light stream into your home. I love something about this whole thing - it makes me feel at peace, being at peace makes me feel happy, being happy means only one thing - a heart full of love. And you will never hear me complain about that.
As I see the drizzles and the rains from my window, I am reminded of the monsoons in the Ghats that we enjoyed completely. Our visit to Koppa in Chikkamagalur district a month ago gave us the opportunity to experience the monsoons in the Western Ghats. While it was nearing the end of the monsoon season, we didnt see it in all its glory, but experienced some of it to get a sense of it. The weirdest thing was it would start pouring like somebody up there opened a tap and then stop like somebody up there closed the tap too. We stayed at this lovely home-stay with its beautiful courtyard. When it rained, sitting and watching the rain in the courtyard was almost meditative. The kids loved the rains too - they were out and about with the umbrellas and enjoyed the clear water all around.
Seeing the rain drip from the tiled roofs always reminds me of rains in my native ancestral grandparent-homes in Kerala (this pic on flickr). However, I have never really experienced the monsoons in Kerala, having never been there in that season because of school in Bangalore. The dripping rain water from the roofs also forms these little pools of water you see in the pic below.
A row of little bowls with spurting pearly water drops.
We did many drives in these pours. Windshields awash with the mountain rains, all rivulets flowing with roaring waters, the Ghats saturated with the color green, and all the Ghat people going about their business under cover …. literally. One thing you always notice is how you never find anybody having weight issues in the Ghats … well, how can they? They are always navigating the terrains on foot or cycles, sometimes navigating the mountains through short cuts that run steep; and that needs burning of calories to maneuver.
Here’s an elderly gentleman going about his day
The beautiful landscape, washed, scrubbed and in its green glory through the pouring rain on the windshield.
The little Ghat towns are all vernacular in their cuteness. The architectural scale is very human, the building materials are local/traditional, and the people warm. And the coconut trees are never out of the frame. Again, all of it reminds me a lot of my childhood vacations spent in remote corners of Kerala.
As we left the Ghats behind, I clicked this couple in the rains, from the car. The elderly man and the little boy - each under his own umbrella, walking on the main road of their little town, chatting away, almost oblivious to the surrounds. This shot is one of my best - I love it for a variety of reasons - the camaraderie, the rains, the moment, and for what I felt when I looked at the LCD after. I hope you like it too.
PS: I get only a few moments at a stretch. I have had to stop so many times while writing this post. It is a luxury to get an entire chunk of time to sit and write what I want to write - I dont have that luxury … and that is ok. I still loved writing this, I love the rains outside as I type this, I love the family that surrounds me, I love having had to get up as many times as I have had to for them. Everything about now is beautiful and I am thankful …
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All pics used here are mine. Please do not use without permission.
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Filed under: Trips, photography
… the reason why I think it is a great book for anybody. My 4+ year old doesnt really get the book. He just finds the events and the wordings funny. My 6+ year old daughter wasnt too sure she got it either, until we went over it a few times, drawing parallels with our own lives.