It is understood that the South West monsoon will hit the Kerala coast by May 30. That means that the monsoon clouds will enter the Goan skies by the first week of June or a couple of days later.
The rains are at our doorsteps. So it is time to get ready for the several months of showers ahead of us. In Goa as indeed it is in the rest of the country, pre-monsoon period is a hectic time as individuals and house-holds get set for the rainy season ahead. In Goa one sees the tiles of houses being removed, cleaned and placed back in place. This activity if literally translated from Konkani means “stitching of the house”. This seems like an apt description as the roof-top is metaphorically being “stitched” to prevent any seepage of rain-water through the roof. Of course now most of the houses in Goa have cemented roof-tops. For such houses making the roof-top waterproof becomes of prime importance.
It is that time of the year when plastic-sheets are in great demand as every effort is being made to protect our belongings from the vagaries of nature. Another pre-monsoon activity very familiar to Goans is getting the kitchen stuffed with dry-fish, condiments, onions and other stuff required for cooking during the rainy season. This amounts to literally “saving for the rainy day”, in kind of course. Pre-monsoon task may also include giving the car a coat of paint on the under-side to protect it from rust during the rains.
Villagers may have to make a pathway for the rain-water to flow in order to prevent them from entering their homes. As we approach the rainy season, it is time to purchase the rain-wear. Incidentally the start of the rainy season also coincides with the commencement of the academic year in schools. Hence the start of the monsoon season also means standing in long queues in front of the book-stalls for parents as they buy the necessary books for their wards as also stitching of new uniform and getting the requisite rain-wear for the kids. Pre-monsoon days are also hectic days for the civic bodies the panchayats, the government department like the electricity department, the fire-service department, etc. The civic bodies and the panchayats have to see to it that the all the gutters and the storm drains are cleaned that the rain-water flows smoothly into the sea. The electricity department has to carry out the pre-monsoon maintenance work while the municipality in co-operation with the fire service department have to carry out pruning of trees and cutting down of those trees which are weak and not be able to survive the strong winds.
However several civic bodies and panchayats and other authorities may show a lackadaisical attitude as far as carrying out their responsibility is concerned. The common man then has to face the brunt of rains with water overflowing on the roads, trees uprooting and frequent power outages and power failures. Pre-monsoon showers is probably nature’s way of testing if we are ready for the rains ahead. Many a times the authorities are caught on the wrong foot as the pre-monsoon work is carried out even when the monsoon is in full force. It is necessary to be ready before it starts to rain cats and dogs.
