Reading 5: "What to Do" During a Monsoon
(The following selections are abstracted from Chasing the Monsoon: A Modern Pilgrimage Through India, Alexander Frater, Now York: Alfred Knopf Inc., 1992, p.45-50.)

Since childhood, Alexander Frater has been fascinated with the sound of rain. He spent his childhood staring at a photograph entitled "Cherrapunji, Assam: The Wettest Place on Earth. 'It is in Cherrapunji that the Indian monsoon produced the world's heaviest rains. In 1987, he decided to "chase the monsoon "from Kerala in southern India to Cherrapunji in Assam, a south to north journey

I drove to Cape Comorin to wait for the monsoon. I found a small coffee shop and began to think about the apparent link between health and the monsoon... Would the monsoon's burst be beneficial to me? I asked the waiter whether he believed in the healing qualities of the rains.

"If basic rules are followed, yes. The general rule for rainy season is moderation; avoid chill, physical exercise, sunshine and sexual intercourse. Always eat according to your dosha, or bodily constitution. On hot, windless days you may require food sweetened with honey, on cold and stormy days just boiled winter rice and a little clear soup; drink coconut wine in small quantities, and rainwater mixed with honey. Take regular massages with gingili oil on a table carved from kaanjiran wood; massages on soles of feet promote sound sleep and good vision. Do not sleep during the day, and do not read; it strains the eyes. Keep amused by watching life go by in the streets. Wear garlands and live in house free from damp. Do all these things and, by the time of the Goddess Parvati's festival in September, you will feel new man."

My driver was interested in talking to me about the monsoon. He said that three years earlier a big prayer ceremony was held in Trivandrum. It took place during the pre-monsoon dry period and, by tradition and decree, began with the lighting of a fire... It was said the flames should be doused by rain and this aroused considerable interest abroad. Several Western scientists were present, including an observer from NASA.

"The week wore on," said my driver, ." and nothing happened. Huge crowds came to pray beside the fire. The atmosphere was very devout. The wife of the chief priest sat with her hands clenched, her fingers pressed hard into her palms, and could not open them until the rains came. Everything had to be done for her - she had to be fed, her teeth -cleaned and so on. But the skies remained absolutely clear and the weather continued baking hot. Towards the end of the week people started complaining, so the priests went to work... The priests began throwing certain things into the fire. It started giving off smoke, very thick and pungent, which grew into a stupendous column thousands of feet high. Then, out of the smoke, sailed many eagles. The sky grew dark and, quite soon, torrential rain began to fall. Within minutes it put the fire out and everyone went home."

We flew through the darkness, away from the rain and turbulence. Varanasi passed below. Peter Mundy, one of the first Britons to travel exhaustively through India, arrived here during the 1630 monsoon. "In time of rains," he reported, "it overflows the banks the distance of 8 or 9 miles ... and the Countrie for 10 or 12 course very fruitefull, pleasant, peaceable and well governed."

When the monsoon arrived over Varansi it brought with it a season of scholarship and contemplation. Unable to travel because of swollen rivers and impassable roads, an army of wandering sadhus (holy men) descended on the place and, in return for food and shelter, held classes. Each evening large crowds would gather in certain temples and houses to hear them teach. Sometimes the crowds included other sadhus who would take issue with the speakers, and their debates, held before an enthralled audience, their voices raised against the din of the rain on the roof, might last long into the night. Varanasi, during the monsoon became a great market place for the exchange of religious and spiritual ideas.

How does/has the monsoon affect life for people in South Asia?