A Rainy Day at Bhopal

Waking up to the rapturous roar of Laharpur river, I know it has rained heavily last night. Yellow alert for Bhopal, and orange alert for six districts of MP.

When I open my laptop, Microsoft Start tells me about the weather- Rain: Bring an umbrella. It’s raining now, and rain will continue for at least two hours. The hourly graph shows the expected precipitation for the rest of the day.

Thanks for the advisory, MS; but I’ve no plans to go out today. A rainy day must be celebrated with pyaz ke pakode with tomato-garlic-coriander leaf chutney. I don’t even open ‘Under 300 calories breakfasts for 7 days of the week’ published by TOI 3 weeks ago; why bother about such stale news? Why also ruin the mood by grieving at India’s 3 medals at Paris Olympics till date whereas US has 61 and China 37?

Focus on the positives. The monsoon this year has been generous to Bhopal which has received 980.7 cm rainfall till date – 80% more than normal. Bhadbhada (how onomatopoeic!) gates for Bada Talab, as residents have named Bhopal lake; Kerwa dam, and Kolar dam have been opened drawing flood-watchers and creating traffic jams.

For me, July and August are the best months of the year during which monsoon nudges Bhopal to turn on its charm as a hill station. Located on the Malwa plateau, with an average elevation of 500 mtrs (1401 ft), Bhopal is like a base camp for the north Indian plains climbing up to the Vindhyas. Bhopal is well-known for its purdah, garda (dust), zarda (tobacco), and na…da (I’m not going to name that!); but once the dust is washed off by the first showers, Bhopal is truly transformed, and its green cover is a feast for the eyes and the soul.

I eagerly look forward to the rains for another reason. Once it rains heavily for two days or more, Laharpur river wakes up from its stupor, and roars remembering its days of yore. The muck and garbage dumped by the city’s callous residents is washed away, and the river emerges like a shining snake after shedding its skin. This year it happened on July 26.

If you live in Bhopal, come and see the beauteous stream gurgling with delight. Not a big river, but it feeds Betwa which feeds Chambal which feeds Yamuna which feeds Ganga which pours into the sea. We are in love with her because she flows by our house, and her brief monsoon roar is mesmerizing music for us.

(Laharpur River on 4 Aug 2024, photos by blogger)

~~~

River Song

You may not believe it,

But I was born beautiful.

Alas, no album with me

To convince you.

Many who frolicked with me

Are no more,

Go check with those few,

with failing vision, and wrinkled skins,

Bhairon Singh and Bhagat,

Walking with a limp and a stick,

With distant memories still faithful and radiant,

A well-preserved negative,

Which can hopefully yield a vivid picture.

Born beautiful,

But mauled, and defiled

By the swelling hordes

With insatiable hunger and unquenchable thirst.

But I’m not Ganga,

To wash your sins and make you pure and clean,

I return your pestilence,

The carcinogenic poison loaded in my veins,

To your dining table;

The wheat, and maize, salads and veggies, and the fish;

My conscientious interest payment,

On your substantial deposits.

III

Every winter the birds still come,

Though the numbers have dwindled over the years;

Those who arrive wonder,

Where have all the fish gone,

Why the water is putrid and stinking,

Why the swamp is now a garbage dump

Of imperishable plastic?

I wish I could tell them why,

And also counsel them to find a better habitat

Soon,

For the swamp is dying, and

This might be my swan-song, too.

Am I a river or just a little stream?

Honestly, I don’t really know.

Haven’t checked what they have written

In the geography books for school children.

What did the irrigation engineers write,

When pushing the project proposal

For sanction,

A dam on a river, or on a stream?

When does a stream graduate to be a river?

A teen an adult with right to vote and drink alcohol?

Here are my coordinates:

23.1966° N, 77.4790° E

Come and see for yourself,

The confluence of two streams

At Laharpur;

That makes me a river,

A small one,

But yes, a river, not a stream.

Mercifully,

I’m reborn every year,

Like a snake shedding its skin,

For its new, shiny body.

The rains run a transfusion,

Pouring new blood into my veins,

Flushing out the putrid, toxic, and life-threatening muck.

Come for a visit,

Spend a little time,

On Laharpur Dam,

See for yourself,

My beauty and grace.

It’s short-lived,

But that transfusion keeps me alive

for the rest of the year.

***

Note: ‘River Song and Other Poems,’ the author’s first collection of poems, takes its title from this poem.

***

Comments

R. Parasuram, a senior colleague

A delightful piece to read on a rainy morning looking at the green foliage of the ever green Kadam here.

But with chai pakode looking across at the Laharpur reservoir must be like being transported to Srinagar giving a feel of the misty Dal in winter.

Enjoy the rain and the pakodas with garam chai.

M.M. Upadhyay

Since the time of Kalidas and even beyond, the rainy season of Sawan Bhadon has been nudging the poets in each one of us to create poem il that could wash away all over worries and the ever chaotic thoughts.

your poetic composition is beautiful and loved every word of it.

Kalidas used megh as the Messenger conveying all the longings to the beloved.

The lahar of the laharpur river has been perfectly captured in your poetic slopes and undulations, good enough to tempt those who haven't seen it swell to become an ocean. Though once in a while.

The muck is all around and each of us has to clean it in it's own little way.

G. Subbu

I loved this :

I return your pestilence,

The carcinogenic poison loaded in my veins,

To your dining table;

The wheat, and maize, salads and veggies, and the fish;

My conscientious interest payment,

On your substantial deposits.

Jailaxmi R. Vinayak, a poet

Beautiful ,elucidation of A Rainy Day

Liked Onomatopoeic usage in Bhadbhada.

M.S. Khan, a senior colleague

The description of the Sawan ki Barkha is so enchanting, yet the poem of the Autobiography of the River is more Captivating !

Thanks for sharing !!

Vijaya Lakshmi Lingamneni, Teacher and occasional writer

Nice one Prasannaji! We experienced something similar in Nagpur, trees full of dust n scorched leaves would turn into a beautiful lush green after the monsoon arrived.

Mrs Kiran Mathur

'Don't remove above 2 please. I haven't read them.'

Kiran Ji sent me this WhatsApp message. She refers to the links for this blog and the one before.

Ma'am, your message has made my day! I'll NEVER remove those blogs. Regards.

P. Rangarajan

'Excellent, especially the poem ! ( Of course I had read it in the book and note subsequent changes !)

The second stanza is particularly good.

A well structured, graphic autobiograpgy!

(Was too impatient to learn to comment in the blog itself-apologies !)'

No issue, Dear Friend. Thanks for your appreciation. Regards.

Prof. Lalita Mathur

What a beautiful description of a rainy day, Prasanna.....

made all the more enjoyable with onion pakoras and garam chai !!

Loved your poem too , "The River Song" . The poet in you is as strong as the writer, if not more. You create the most delightful word pictures with your vivid , minute and lucid description.

Thanks for this beautiful blog.

Warm regards.

Prasanna Dash