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Wall of Rain - The monsoon makes landfall

  • May 29, 2013: Fishermen at work under a brilliant cotton and blue sky. “Two days,” they said. The monsoon will come in two days.
    1/33

    Travel Monsoon in Kerala

    May 29, 2013: Fishermen at work under a brilliant cotton and blue sky. “Two days,” they said. The monsoon will come in two days.
    Arati Kumar Rao
  • May 30, 2013. Still cotton and blue skies, and it was a huge haul today. The net bulged and ebbed and refused to leave the water.
    2/33

    Travel Monsoon in Kerala

    May 30, 2013. Still cotton and blue skies, and it was a huge haul today. The net bulged and ebbed and refused to leave the water.
    Arati Kumar Rao
  • Catches from the sea are variable. On a good day, like this one, everyone will get about INR 500-600.
    3/33

    Travel Monsoon in Kerala

    Catches from the sea are variable. On a good day, like this one, everyone will get about INR 500-600.
    Arati Kumar Rao
  • So huge was the catch that pulling it up was out of the question and small groups of people jumped in to the water with net bags and brought back the bounty a few kilos at a time.
    4/33

    Travel Monsoon in Kerala

    So huge was the catch that pulling it up was out of the question and small groups of people jumped in to the water with net bags and brought back the bounty a few kilos at a time.
    Arati Kumar Rao
  • On meager days, all the hard work can come to naught. Nary a few jumping silvery fish in the net.
    5/33

    Travel Monsoon in Kerala

    On meager days, all the hard work can come to naught. Nary a few jumping silvery fish in the net.
    Arati Kumar Rao
  • Womenfolk wait by the beach, aluminium vessels in hand, bidding for each batch.
    6/33

    Travel Monsoon in Kerala

    Womenfolk wait by the beach, aluminium vessels in hand, bidding for each batch.
    Arati Kumar Rao
  • The winners hurry away with their fish to the market, to grab the prime spots before competition arrives.
    7/33

    Travel Monsoon in Kerala

    The winners hurry away with their fish to the market, to grab the prime spots before competition arrives.
    Arati Kumar Rao
  • May 31, 2013 dawned gray and wet. But it was not the monsoon yet: the wind had not changed direction, the clouds were not rolling in from the southwest.
    8/33

    Travel Monsoon in Kerala

    May 31, 2013 dawned gray and wet. But it was not the monsoon yet: the wind had not changed direction, the clouds were not rolling in from the southwest.
    Arati Kumar Rao
  • Undeterred by the wet conditions, the fisherfolk hauled and young footballers played on.
    9/33

    Travel Monsoon in Kerala

    Undeterred by the wet conditions, the fisherfolk hauled and young footballers played on.
    Arati Kumar Rao
  • Patient egrets hunched by the fisherfolk, biding their time, braving the rain, until rewarded by dead fish strewn from careless baskets.
    10/33

    Travel Monsoon in Kerala

    Patient egrets hunched by the fisherfolk, biding their time, braving the rain, until rewarded by dead fish strewn from careless baskets.
    Arati Kumar Rao
  • Things looked different by the time the evening came around. Clouds were billowing in from the southwest.
    11/33

    Travel Monsoon in Kerala

    Things looked different by the time the evening came around. Clouds were billowing in from the southwest.
    Arati Kumar Rao
  • The seas were frothing strange colors.
    12/33

    Travel Monsoon in Kerala

    The seas were frothing strange colors.
    Arati Kumar Rao
  • The skies darkened visibly…
    13/33

    Travel Monsoon in Kerala

    The skies darkened visibly…
    Arati Kumar Rao
  • … and a wind whipped the waves into a stinging mist of brine
    14/33

    Travel Monsoon in Kerala

    … and a wind whipped the waves into a stinging mist of brine
    Arati Kumar Rao
  • And then, suddenly, there on an indigo horizon, was The Wall.
    15/33

    Travel Monsoon in Kerala

    And then, suddenly, there on an indigo horizon, was The Wall.
    Arati Kumar Rao
  • Within minutes, the Wall of sky-water rushed towards the beach and engulfed it in a mid-afternoon darkness.
    16/33

    Travel Monsoon in Kerala

    Within minutes, the Wall of sky-water rushed towards the beach and engulfed it in a mid-afternoon darkness.
    Arati Kumar Rao
  • And just as it was emptying itself on the beach, the weight seemed to lift, and a bland, flat glow pervaded all around.
    17/33

    Travel Monsoon in Kerala

    And just as it was emptying itself on the beach, the weight seemed to lift, and a bland, flat glow pervaded all around.
    Arati Kumar Rao
  • The southwest monsoon had arrived in style, and was here to stay in India for the next three to four months or so.
    18/33

    Travel Monsoon in Kerala

    The southwest monsoon had arrived in style, and was here to stay in India for the next three to four months or so.
    Arati Kumar Rao
  • Life in Kerala though will change for those months. Light rain that falls in the day is perfect for fish to breed. And at such times fishing, the mainstay of local folks, is banned, signaling hard times for them.
    19/33

    Travel Monsoon in Kerala

    Life in Kerala though will change for those months. Light rain that falls in the day is perfect for fish to breed. And at such times fishing, the mainstay of local folks, is banned, signaling hard times for them.
    Arati Kumar Rao
  • Saltwater fishing will also be stopped due to rough seas. The fisherfolk may still put out, risking their lives, driven by a need for sustenance.
    20/33

    Travel Monsoon in Kerala

    Saltwater fishing will also be stopped due to rough seas. The fisherfolk may still put out, risking their lives, driven by a need for sustenance.
    Arati Kumar Rao
  • Until the government issues a ban on fishing in the sea, life goes doggedly on for these fisherfolk as usual. Laying out the lines by boat and hauling the catch in… under darkening early morning skies.
    21/33

    Travel Monsoon in Kerala

    Until the government issues a ban on fishing in the sea, life goes doggedly on for these fisherfolk as usual. Laying out the lines by boat and hauling the catch in… under darkening early morning skies.
    Arati Kumar Rao
  • The rains, however, spell rejuvenation for the landscape.
    22/33

    Travel Monsoon in Kerala

    The rains, however, spell rejuvenation for the landscape.
    Arati Kumar Rao
  • River flows increase…
    23/33

    Travel Monsoon in Kerala

    River flows increase…
    Arati Kumar Rao
  • Banks of fern rise from the sides of the road...
    24/33

    Travel Monsoon in Kerala

    Banks of fern rise from the sides of the road...
    Arati Kumar Rao
  • Boughs and lianas are smothered in moss, and epiphytes were everywhere.
    25/33

    Travel Monsoon in Kerala

    Boughs and lianas are smothered in moss, and epiphytes were everywhere.
    Arati Kumar Rao
  • Drenched Malabar Giant Squirrels plug away at their ficus fruits unmindful of the descending sheets of rain.
    26/33

    Travel Monsoon in Kerala

    Drenched Malabar Giant Squirrels plug away at their ficus fruits unmindful of the descending sheets of rain.
    Arati Kumar Rao
  • Curtains of green rejuvenate and hang everywhere, thankful for a reprieve from the stifling summer heat.
    27/33

    Travel Monsoon in Kerala

    Curtains of green rejuvenate and hang everywhere, thankful for a reprieve from the stifling summer heat.
    Arati Kumar Rao
  • Mist rises from the forest floor and melds with the rain...
    28/33

    Travel Monsoon in Kerala

    Mist rises from the forest floor and melds with the rain...
    Arati Kumar Rao
  • …and orchids bloom once again.
    29/33

    Travel Monsoon in Kerala

    …and orchids bloom once again.
    Arati Kumar Rao
  • Rock-faces seem to dissolve into rivulets as water gushes through and over them.
    30/33

    Travel Monsoon in Kerala

    Rock-faces seem to dissolve into rivulets as water gushes through and over them.
    Arati Kumar Rao
  • Dry streams flow once again, on their way to join rivulets, which in turn join others, draining the basin of the seasonal downpours.
    31/33

    Travel Monsoon in Kerala

    Dry streams flow once again, on their way to join rivulets, which in turn join others, draining the basin of the seasonal downpours.
    Arati Kumar Rao
  • The watersheds and catchments transfer their wards to the forests of the Western Ghats, which busily get to their important storage work.
    32/33

    Travel Monsoon in Kerala

    The watersheds and catchments transfer their wards to the forests of the Western Ghats, which busily get to their important storage work.
    Arati Kumar Rao
  • While urban roads clog and traffic snarls, while people complain and whine their way through the inconveniences of monsoon, almost everyone welcomes this wet, lifegiving punctuation.
    33/33

    Travel Monsoon in Kerala

    While urban roads clog and traffic snarls, while people complain and whine their way through the inconveniences of monsoon, almost everyone welcomes this wet, lifegiving punctuation.
    Arati Kumar Rao
May 29, 2013: Fishermen at work under a brilliant cotton and blue sky. “Two days,” they said. The monsoon will come in two days.
May 30, 2013. Still cotton and blue skies, and it was a huge haul today. The net bulged and ebbed and refused to leave the water.
Catches from the sea are variable. On a good day, like this one, everyone will get about INR 500-600.
So huge was the catch that pulling it up was out of the question and small groups of people jumped in to the water with net bags and brought back the bounty a few kilos at a time.
On meager days, all the hard work can come to naught. Nary a few jumping silvery fish in the net.
Womenfolk wait by the beach, aluminium vessels in hand, bidding for each batch.
The winners hurry away with their fish to the market, to grab the prime spots before competition arrives.
May 31, 2013 dawned gray and wet. But it was not the monsoon yet: the wind had not changed direction, the clouds were not rolling in from the southwest.
Undeterred by the wet conditions, the fisherfolk hauled and young footballers played on.
Patient egrets hunched by the fisherfolk, biding their time, braving the rain, until rewarded by dead fish strewn from careless baskets.
Things looked different by the time the evening came around. Clouds were billowing in from the southwest.
The seas were frothing strange colors.
The skies darkened visibly…
… and a wind whipped the waves into a stinging mist of brine
And then, suddenly, there on an indigo horizon, was The Wall.
Within minutes, the Wall of sky-water rushed towards the beach and engulfed it in a mid-afternoon darkness.
And just as it was emptying itself on the beach, the weight seemed to lift, and a bland, flat glow pervaded all around.
The southwest monsoon had arrived in style, and was here to stay in India for the next three to four months or so.
Life in Kerala though will change for those months. Light rain that falls in the day is perfect for fish to breed. And at such times fishing, the mainstay of local folks, is banned, signaling hard times for them.
Saltwater fishing will also be stopped due to rough seas. The fisherfolk may still put out, risking their lives, driven by a need for sustenance.
Until the government issues a ban on fishing in the sea, life goes doggedly on for these fisherfolk as usual. Laying out the lines by boat and hauling the catch in… under darkening early morning skies.
The rains, however, spell rejuvenation for the landscape.
River flows increase…
Banks of fern rise from the sides of the road...
Boughs and lianas are smothered in moss, and epiphytes were everywhere.
Drenched Malabar Giant Squirrels plug away at their ficus fruits unmindful of the descending sheets of rain.
Curtains of green rejuvenate and hang everywhere, thankful for a reprieve from the stifling summer heat.
Mist rises from the forest floor and melds with the rain...
…and orchids bloom once again.
Rock-faces seem to dissolve into rivulets as water gushes through and over them.
Dry streams flow once again, on their way to join rivulets, which in turn join others, draining the basin of the seasonal downpours.
The watersheds and catchments transfer their wards to the forests of the Western Ghats, which busily get to their important storage work.
While urban roads clog and traffic snarls, while people complain and whine their way through the inconveniences of monsoon, almost everyone welcomes this wet, lifegiving punctuation.

On Adimalathura Beach on the southwest coast of Kerala, ARATI KUMAR RAO lay in wait for the southwest monsoon and watched, shutter clicking furiously, as the great wall of rain made landfall in an enormous, life-giving torrent.

Arati Kumar Rao is a writer and photographer based in Bangalore. View more of her work at her website