It never rains, but it pours
- By The Rambler
- Published 28th March, 2008
The rains have brought us an abundance of water, and it's been water, water everywhere with plenty to drink. After a worrying spell of prolonged drought, the land has at long last been blessed with the celestial liquid.
A man of religion from India, who was visiting the country earlier this year, had predicted the present downpour. When asked about the drought, he had replied, “It's a period of fasting and the great majority of the population will be on fast during these few months. Just wait and see.”
Well, people have fasted for Cavadee, people have fasted for Maha Shivratri, and people have fasted for 40 days during Lent. And the rain started when the fasting ended. Mere coincidence? There may be more to that.
The heavy rain has brought us the much desired life giver. But unfortunately, the water has not just filled our lakes and reservoirs and irrigated our fields. It has also taken lives and caused other kinds of damage before making its way to the ocean.
Tomatoes and other vegetables were getting scarce because of the drought. Now they run the risk of being invisible because of the rain. Among those who have been carried by the flood, is a young schoolgirl. Some people are holding the
Ministry of Education responsible for her death because, they say, it should have kept the schools closed in view of the heavy rains.
The Ministry retorts that it takes its cue from the met services and that there was absolutely no reason to close the schools since the met services had not predicted torrential rains. It would thus appear that the poor girl has lost her precious life because of a silly adjective. But the people cannot understand this simple fact, because in their logic, the life of a child is so much more important than a mere matter of semantics.
“The Ministry ought to have understood that it's not just a question of torrential rain,” they claim. “The rain has been falling since the weekend and a great volume of water had accumulated everywhere. The falling rain was bringing more and more water. The rivers had overflowed even in the absence of torrential rain, the earth was completely soaked and couldn't take in any more water. Moreover, the met services had issued ample warning about amassed water, fog, and winds that were expected to blow at 100 km per hour. What more was the Ministry awaiting?” they let out angrily.
They sure have a point there. The more so, as the schools were closed on Thursday in spite of the radiating sun. Or was it because of the torrential sun?
A man of religion from India, who was visiting the country earlier this year, had predicted the present downpour. When asked about the drought, he had replied, “It's a period of fasting and the great majority of the population will be on fast during these few months. Just wait and see.”
Well, people have fasted for Cavadee, people have fasted for Maha Shivratri, and people have fasted for 40 days during Lent. And the rain started when the fasting ended. Mere coincidence? There may be more to that.
The heavy rain has brought us the much desired life giver. But unfortunately, the water has not just filled our lakes and reservoirs and irrigated our fields. It has also taken lives and caused other kinds of damage before making its way to the ocean.
Tomatoes and other vegetables were getting scarce because of the drought. Now they run the risk of being invisible because of the rain. Among those who have been carried by the flood, is a young schoolgirl. Some people are holding the
The Ministry retorts that it takes its cue from the met services and that there was absolutely no reason to close the schools since the met services had not predicted torrential rains. It would thus appear that the poor girl has lost her precious life because of a silly adjective. But the people cannot understand this simple fact, because in their logic, the life of a child is so much more important than a mere matter of semantics.
“The Ministry ought to have understood that it's not just a question of torrential rain,” they claim. “The rain has been falling since the weekend and a great volume of water had accumulated everywhere. The falling rain was bringing more and more water. The rivers had overflowed even in the absence of torrential rain, the earth was completely soaked and couldn't take in any more water. Moreover, the met services had issued ample warning about amassed water, fog, and winds that were expected to blow at 100 km per hour. What more was the Ministry awaiting?” they let out angrily.
They sure have a point there. The more so, as the schools were closed on Thursday in spite of the radiating sun. Or was it because of the torrential sun?
Author)
