Rain ruins the golfers routine; but it is an unavoidable and pleasant reality. Rain in different cultures is associated with different taboos. In some societies it is regarded as a bad portent, as they call it ‘rainy days’. In others, it is revered as a blessing. In most countries located in warm weather hemispheres, especially the subcontinent, rain is ranked with romance and joy. The weather lady on the other hand, knows it as a science.
The precipitation family consists of seven members namely drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. Today we are going to explore rain as a topic. The rainfall is a complex weather system. It would be quite boring to indulge in scientific details of weather systems since I am no expert on that so I leave you with reference in case.
The sky is a beautiful blue canvas and clouds paint it to the awe of our imaginations. I grew up in the summer monsoon region where rains of ’Sawan’ a month of rain in subcontinent calendar reassure life all the way from the depth of the Indian Ocean to the Himalayan heights. How can I express the feeling of watching swirling pines, waltzing with clouds along the twisting roads of Nathiagali?
Rain is a crucial aspect of human existence and throughout history
ancient religions have nominated weather deities. Tefnut was a goddess of rain in Egypt. Zeus is a sky and thunder god in primeval Greek religion. Humans, along with prayers, have been continually developing secular and scientific knowledge to observe, predict and provide command and control over weather. Weather forecasts today are accurate to minutes and hours, predicting storms, hurricanes, and blizzards alike; we even fashionize ourselves accordingly everyday.
In today’s write up our realm is more of metaphoric nature than scientific. “Sky won’t fall” is a common phrase. Yes, the sky never falls but the sea does; conversing with land through rain. It’s a way for the ocean to reach out to the inhabitants of land. It’s the sea's way of knocking at our door, almost a home delivery of water. Earth itself is a combination of water and land, practically married to each other. Rain is literally a mating of sea and land, and flood is molestation. The rain makes rivers, fills lakes, and irrigates forests. It bathes those who otherwise have no source of water. It quenches the thirst of deserts and washes mountain tops.
Rain of course, is a blessing and lifeline of flora and fauna. It surely brings about diversity both in our daily life and moods. Some of us adore rain while others detest it and would rather sleep through it. Few like to gaze at torrents of rain, others love sprinkles of drops on their hands. There are those who like pinpricks of raindrops on their faces, I prefer to sit in the veranda and witness the downpour. The rhythm of falling rain seeds songs in the literary minds. Poets occasionally blend love and rain.
“The rain knows not
of the land laying to waste,
or the flood that
washes all away.
It just knows to fall.
Love knows not of hearts
that stays broken,
Or hearts that heal.
It knows to happen.”
- Unknown
Through thunder, the clouds transmit a million messages for people with different temper & tastes. Most shiver with fear, few take pleasure in the roar. I perceive thunder as an order from the sky: “Don’t pollute my planet.” And comes rain to rinse it.
“We danced in the rain
and watched as flowers
grew out of our wounds”
-cwpoet (Caroline White)
Golf however is forbidden during thunder and rain stops the game. Some pray for rain, some ring bells. Scientists create artificial rains and sorcerers predict the weather. Some bathe in rain to purify souls while some do it to look sexy, kids do it for the heck of it. Some relations are made and some are broken. Some rains fall in dreams, some in laps. Rain grows crops and sinks the nursery. Some like me, love the smell of the soil fumed by showers.
Seeds crave for rain and ants dislike it. Flowers blossom by it and the thorn gets sharper. Rain deluges villages and helps towns to grow. It gives some an excuse to hide and it brings others to the surface. Some meet in the rain, some depart. It makes wipers run and rests the sun shades. Rain opens the holes and fills the trenches. But no matter what, it cleanses everything it touches.
Song of the Rain
I am dotted silver threads dropped from heaven
By the gods. Nature then takes me, to adorn
Her fields and valleys.
I am beautiful pearls, plucked from the
Crown of Ishtar by the daughter of Dawn
To embellish the gardens.
When I cry the hills laugh;
When I humble myself the flowers rejoice;
When I bow, all things are elated.
The field and the cloud are lovers
And between them I am a messenger of mercy.
I quench the thirst of one;
I cure the ailment of the other.
The voice of thunder declares my arrival;
The rainbow announces my departure.
I am like earthly life, which begins at
The feet of the mad elements and ends
Under the upraised wings of death.
I emerge from the heard of the sea
Soar with the breeze. When I see a field in
Need, I descend and embrace the flowers and
The trees in a million little ways.
I touch gently at the windows with my
Soft fingers, and my announcement is a
Welcome song. All can hear, but only
The sensitive can understand.
The heat in the air gives birth to me,
But in turn I kill it,
As woman overcomes man with
The strength she takes from him.
I am the sigh of the sea;
The laughter of the field;
The tears of heaven.
So with love—
Sighs from the deep sea of affection;
Laughter from the colorful field of the spirit;
Tears from the endless heaven of memories.
Ahsan Jamil
Golfer, Author, Poet, Blogger, Entrepreneur, Wanderer.
Email: golfaij@gmail.com
Web: aijgolf.com
Credits:
-Wikipedia
-Youtube
-A tear and a smile, Khalil Gibran, 1914.