In this post, a look at some of the cultural connections to our monsoons.
You will have studied the impacts of the monsoons in your textbook. So, we will leave that out.
Here, we will look the cultural connections to our monsoons.
Culture is the way of life of a group of people. It includes an important theme of geography: human-environment interaction. Earth is affect by our actions, and those of other living and non-living things. In turn, Earth also affects us, and all life.
Our culture has engaged with the monsoon in many ways: through food, visual arts such as paintings, performing arts such folk and classical dances and music, through movies, and many other ways.
Here are two Kannada rhymes that we used to chat as kids. Anjana (11) and Ashvini (7) have sung two of them for this blog.
Inviting rain
Come, come, king rain,
There is no water for the banana grove
Come, come, king rain,
There is no water for the flower garden.
Walking in the rain
The rain came, the rain,
Walk holding your umbrella,
Slip and fall, all the clothes dirty.
Southern Indian classical music
This song was composed by Sri Muttusvāmi Dīkshitar (1775-1835), a great composer of the Karnātaka sangītam style of Indian classical music.
There is a legend that when he visited Sattur (in Tamil Nadu), during his travel, there was a drought there. The area is in the rainshadow area of the southwest monsoons and is part of a large area of undependable rainfall. The people of the area approached him and asked him to help them get rain as the drought had become unbearable. He is said to have composed and sung this song. The rains came and quenched the parched land.
He has chosen the rāga (melodic scale) called _amrtavarshinī_ (‘she who rains amrta or ambrosia’). In this song, he prays to _Bhavānī_ the local goddess beseeching her to cause rain. In the final line, he says:
सलिलं वर्षय वर्षय वर्षय
Pour forth, pour forth, pour forth the rain
Northern Indian classical music
The rāga meghamalhār is reputed to be capable of making it rain. Here, Smt Kaushiki Chakraborty sings rāga megh followed by malhār.
Indian cinema
Countless Indian movies in many languages have celebrated monsoon rains. Monsoon songs in movies are, more often than not, used to set a romantic mood. Examples:
Kannada film Mungāru malé (‘advancing rain’ = southwest monsoon)
Hindi film Lagaan
A community living in very arid region yearn for rain.
Assamese cinematic video
Yum-yum!
Here are some monsoon recipes:
This series could go on endlessly. We have to stop somewhere! Here is as good a point as any.
Hopefully, you can add these to your textbook learning about the monsoons and better appreciate this amazing phenomenon of nature in all its glory and fury.
Go out and get soaked in at least one monsoon rain this season. Then go back inside, dry off and have a hot, comforting beverage.
सलिलं वर्षय वर्षय वर्षय
Pour forth, pour forth, pour forth the rain
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Do you know other ways in which people connect with monsoons?
Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Featured image: Big banyan tree, Bengaluru.
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