The Monsoon- Whether Friend Or Foe

    The Indian season is a very hot season. In certain parts of the country it is unbearable. Due to the extraordinary heat, in summer, the houses are like ovens and the streets are like furnaces. Many unfortunate people die of abnormally high temperature. Then in due course, a friendly wind begins to blow from the south west. It is called the monsoon. It is cool and pleasant. It comes as the most welcome relief from the blazing inferno of summer. It brings rains, and hence our rainy season is also called the monsoon. It begins on the 7^th of June. It strikes Sri Lanka first, and then covers the Indian west cost.

    The monsoon in India lasts for about four months. It transforms the land into a shining mirror of water. Wells, ponds, lakes and rivers are filled with water. Farmers hope to reap rich harvests. Drinking water is in abundance. But sometimes the rains take on a foe-like appearance. They are usually heavy. They cause destructive floods which sweep away bridges and railway lines, and whole villages with their human and animal population. At such times we cannot but think that the monsoon is our foe, not a friend.

    But in fact, the monsoon is our most sincere friend. We cannot do without it. A good monsoon means enough water and food. If the monsoon fails, we suffer from drought. This is a terrible situation. There is famine. Men and animals die of thirst and starvation. We have merely to imagine the disaster in order to realize how very friendly the monsoon is! Indeed, the monsoon is not our foe, but the moist lovable friend.