Rains in Indian Cinema
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Samir, a writer from Bangalore, shares us his thoughts on rain, the silver screen and that interesting thing people have for so long taken for granted, called weather.
Rains have a lot to do in Indian cinema - they hide tears, it is the thin screen that hides love scenes, it accentuates the curves of the curvaceous heroine and generates steam around the panting hero.
The indian economy revolves around the monsoon - the usually ignored meteorological department suddenly becomes the savant who has words that can soothe millions. A mere hiccup from him can bring down the stock exchange. Every year it is the same - newspapers and TV stations try to be the first to get a sound bite from him about the monsoon.
It rains every Christmas in my hometown in Nagpur and in Bangalore there is a shower before the festival of Diwali. There is a feeling of incompleteness if it does not rain during such occasions - its like a meal without a dessert.
Rain in India is beyond science, our very social fabric revolves around rains. During periods o
f low rainfall farmers have had weddings for frogs, have married donkeys - all to please the rain
gods. Every year before the monsoons municipal governments clean out the drains and promise that there will not be any problems with drainage - but that never happens.But there have been changes to rainfall patterns there was a deluge in Bombay a few years back which brought the city to a complete stand still or the recent floods in the deserts of Rajasthan. Worse still Cehrapuni which used to be the wettest place in India if not the world is no longer so.
These patterns have 'easy' answers 'its a cycle' say the scientists, 'who can predict the weather' say others, while regular Indians have always believed in fate, something which absolves them of responsibility or the need to act. 'Its all written on the forehead' thats what they usually say - as they go ahead and buy smoke belching SUV.
Samir
posted by COOL THE PLANET @ 10:37 AM,
