Mazhakkalam: A Rain of Emotions

By K. S. SUDHI
From the meteorologists to the man on the street to farmers, poets and writers, the rain presents a weltering bunch of experiences and emotions. It alters and rewrites life on the face of earth.

MAZHAKKALAM: Mazhayude Rasavum Rahasyangalum is a compilation of articles that depict rain in a gamut of emotions. For all those who have penned their momories for the book, rain has presented a bouquet of emotions. Poets, writers, scientists, journalists, fishermen... rain affects all these sections, in their own unique and distinctively different ways as showcased in the collection edited by TOM J. MANGATT.

For someone, it's the lifeline of earth. A consolation, a friendly smile behind the glass door, thandava dance, the brutal force capable of upsetting the rhythm of life
"Our love for rain, when we are in the sea, depends on its nature," says Kattuparampil Xavier Benchamin, an 85-year-old fisherman whose first encounter with rain in the sea was at the age of 12. "Heavy rain is a curse. Still we get a good catch during the rainy season," he writes.

For poet Sugathakumari, it is the whimpering night rain with her hair undone that is most familier. "She is insane. With hear head bent, she is crying, laughing, singing and mumbling. Her wet mane is dragging in the sand. She has a few smiles and an ocean full of tears," Sugathakumari writes.

The book is attempt to cover rain and life. Published by DC Books, it has made its entry at the most appropriate time- the South West monsoon.

(THE HINDU, 2005 July 28, Thursday)

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