Adelmo Fernandes
After the dry and sultry summer season passes by, it will be time to look forward to the rains. Thanks to the South West monsoon Goa has been getting sufficient rainfall every year. Hence it that time of the year to be prepared for the rains. Perhaps many of you have heard of the parable preparing for rain. “There were two farmers who desperately needed rain, and both of them prayed for rain. But only one of them went out and prepared his fields to receive it. Which one do you think trusted God to send the rain; the answer the one who prepared his fields for it?”
There are a lot of activities that precedes the rainy season. The activities include those at home, activities involving school children, activities involving the municipality, etc. The first thing one has to get set for the rains is the house we live in. In Goa people having tiled house carry out the task of cleaning and repairing the roof-top. A safe home is what is necessary during the rains.
Incidentally it is when the monsoon is in full flow that the schools reopen for the new academic year. Hence school going children need to be bought the rain-wear, new school-uniform, and other school accessories. After a long summer vacation what children need most of all is the motivation to go back to school.
Pre-monsoon showers are probably God’s way of finding out if we are ready for the monsoon ahead. Clogged drains can result in flooding of roads. At some low-lying areas rain-water can even enter people’s homes. Another activity that the municipality needs to carry out well in advance is the trimming of the trees. If the trees are not trimmed the branches can break and fall and pose danger to the general public. If these branches are not cut they can also fall on the electric wires which can also prove dangerous and cause disruption of electric power.
