It’s finally raining in Delhi. After being here for almost 10 years one of the few things I liked about Delhi was its lack of rains. Not to get me wrong it’s not that I hate rains on the contrary being a long time Mumbaikar I actually love the rains. But staying 10 years in a city where rain is a novelty has actually reset my expectations from the rain gods. I found a renewed sense of freedom to be able to move around the city almost year-long without the horrors that heavy rains almost always brought about in Mumbai. Whilst June to August spells monsoons south of Maharashtra, the same period in Delhi used to be warm and sunny. Slowly I started getting used to the freedom that was long denied to me by rain gods in Pune and Mumbai. These dry spells lasted for almost 6 years; however the weather has significantly changed over the last 4 years.
The rains made their entry into Delhi in 2006 and slowly over a period of time the so called ‘occasional shower season’ has matured to a full fledged ‘rainy season’ in Delhi. The human mind is intrinsically averse to change, as I got accustomed to a very dry Delhi, the heavens open up and its raining everywhere. Apparently Aug 10, has been the wettest August in 15 years and there have been only 7 such spells in the last 110 years in Delhi. That’s some statistics now.
The few questions that come to my mind are, what has caused this change? For once are the proponents of global warming right. Is the weather really taking a drastic turn, not sure if its for the good or worse. This article on the NASA site (http://www.nasa.gov/worldbook/global_warming_worldbook.html) reports that over the past 100 and next 100 years together, the overall temperature of earth would have gone up by about 10.4 degrees ! Now that’s a scary thought, the only comforting factor is that I won’t live a 100 years to see that temperature rise. When we look back the winter of 2009-10 in Delhi was more severe than the years before, the summer was equally unbearable and now the excessive rains. Is this nature’s way of warning us that ‘all is not well’. But frankly are any of us listening or seeing these obvious changes. The Delhi government had done its bit a couple of years back by being the only state in India to implement CNG for 100% commercial vehicles like state busses, taxis and autos. Polluting industries have been asked to move out of Delhi to its outskirts. The quality of air has improved marginally but frankly like a friend mentioned a few days back after her trip to New York. You wake up with a much clearer head in New York as compared to Delhi. How many of us have woken u to realize that you do not feel as fresh commensurate to the number of hours you have clocked in the bed.
A few years back I used to wonder how someone retiring from his or her job can decide to settle in the faraway hills or a remote beach location. I had decided I would stay in the hustle and bustle of the city and be in the middle of all the action. But 10 years of stay in Delhi and I have concluded, no more cities for me as and when I retire. It’s going to be an idyllic location, where the air is pure, the sky is clear and there is no smog between me and nature. This brings back memories of ‘Jamaica Farewell’ by Harry Belafonte;
‘Down the bay where the nights are gay,
And the sun shines daily on the mountain top
I took a trip on a sailing ship
And when I reached Jamaica I made a stop’
It’s a race against time. First we were all in villages, then we created cities and then moved to cities for better jobs, now the cities get polluted and we are rushing back to villages. Its only a matter of time before the construction industry extends its claws to every village in sight. I sadly wonder would there be any Jamaica left on earth for any of us to stop?
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
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