The Seasons Are Changing (The First Rain)
on From Banglatown to Bangladesh (Bangladesh), 17/Feb/2010 12:34, 34 days ago
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Sitting in my favourite lunch-spot today, once oh-so-familiar sounds suddenly began: first, the heavy, metallic bangs of raindrops on the building's tin roof, and then, the growl of thunder in the distance. Today, a mere four or so months since the end of last year's monsoon season, we had our first rain.Today's rain was light and short. But still it brought with it the sights and smells of the rainy season: umbrellas, dampness in the air, moisture mixing with the layers of dust on the roads and leaves.It's early for the rains to begin. Winter is only now on its way out: I still sleep with a blanket or two, and the fans in each room of my house have yet to be turned on. The temperatures still have to rise, the humidity in the air still has to increase, before the rains really break through, and I can welcome them properly.Because as much as I came to resent the continuous dampness and ever-increasing mould brought by the rains, last year I did indeed welcome their beginning. I remember our first proper day of rain very clearly. After not seeing rain for almost six months, and having watched the once luminous green fields around me turn brown, dry and lifeless, that rain was definitely an event.I was in the market in Khagrachari, laden with heavy bags. And as clichéd as it is, after days of sweat and weeks of dust, all I wanted to do was take a moment and savour the sensory experience of raindrops on my skin. For possibly the first time in my life, I was actively enjoying being caught in the rain.So it may be early, and there may be many more days before I am tempted to dance in the sodden streets again. And this year, after the rain, snow, ice and general plethora of precipitation I experienced during my month in England, the advent of rainy season here may not be so significant as in the past.But still, today was a sign. Summer is on its way, the rains are coming, and yet again in the Desh, the seasons are changing.
