Rain is not only about droplets falling from the sky. It’s about the soothing sound it makes, the cool breeze it brings, and the rainbow it creates. In India, rain is considered to be the beginning of good time and joy among the heart of the living creatures. It brings harmony against the dissonance of the cruel heat accompanied by the cool breeze. The nature becomes lustrous and rich with fields covered in green grass. The thought of dancing in the first drops of the rain enchants our mind. We Indians have always associated rainy season with warm chai and pakodas. Such a good time it would be , wouldn’t it? India being a poor developing country, the farmers mostly depend upon the monsoon rain for irrigation of crops.The farmers pray for the arrival of monsoon and became utterly happy as the first droplet of monsoon first hit their fields. They dance and rejoice in happiness. Rain is a recurring topic in literature and cinema. The sound of rain make people nostalgic. It is a season for lovers and is a romantic symbol for them because it brings the feeling of intimacy and closeness in them. Imagine a rich girl sitting in the balcony of her house, with a hot strong coffee reading a book, taking sips looking at the rain and thinking of the old memories.
Imagine her father sitting next to TV, watching the news of heavy rainfall across the country? Now imagine a little girl living in the slums, all drenched in water, crying for her mother whose house was swiped away by flood last night. Would the thought of rain be as good to her as that of the rich girl? Rain causes a lot of problems, of which the poor and those living in slums are greatly effected. Those living in the slums do not have proper housing facilities. Flood swipes away their home and leave them to suffer. The slums are used as dumping ground . People throw garbages and litter in the surrounding of the slums. When it rains ,it carries the garbages and spread them in their settlement. This gives way for various disease to harm them. Also their sources of drinking water becomes contaminated. The poor,Ieft with no other option are forced to drink the same water and suffer from jaundice, diarrhoea, and many other disease s. Excessive rain also result in the rise of the river water level and is a root cause for floods and landslides all over the country. The flood swipes away the poorly built houses and the slums. The people from the slums have to move to a different location frequently. The stagnant water gives way for mosquitoes to breed resulting in the outbreak of malaria and dangue of which mostly the poor are the victim. Another problem that the poor suffer is food shortage . When there is excessive rain in the country, it destroys the food crops and vegetables. This results in increase in the prices of grain, vegetables and rice. If we look back to the flood of 2013 when Kedarnath Temple flooded swiping away several viIIages,it is reported that people survived eating leaves from tree and water. The poor and those living in slums are left with no option. Many attempt suicide. The government is supposed to help the needy in such situations. Rescue operations are directed to help save lives during flood. Rations of food are provided free of course. But occasionally, urban poor are not seen by the national government as worthy of national attention. And again , the poor suffer. In the rain, we see a big difference between rich and poor in cities. Rich people stay comfortable, but rain makes life harder for poor people in slums. Rain shows how poor housing and no proper facilities affect them. For the less lucky, rain makes their problems worse. Their homes aren’t good enough to keep rain out. The rain reminds us that life isn’t fair. Some people have a lot, and others have very little. But rain connects everyone—it touches all of us.
Author:-Khushi Dhital
