It is impossible to overestimate the importance of the monsoon to the cultural life of India. Every aspect of Indian culture has been affected in some way by the annual cycle of the rains. It is celebrated in their literature, songs, classical music, films, [P 024 / religions] and myths. Its appearance is awaited with bated breath by newspapers and politicians, and debated anxiously around the country.
The perception of rain is very different in India to that of the West. In English-speaking countries, into every life a little rain must fall, every cloud must have a silver lining, things must be put aside for a rainy day, and so forth. In India however, dark clouds symbolize happiness, beautiful women have hair as black as monsoon clouds and eyes that sparkle like lightning. In Indian poetry, imagery that a westerner would see as being sad is, in fact, full of joy. The monsoon represents happiness, rejuvenation and the re-affirmation of life.
The importance of the monsoon to the people of India can be seen in the place it assumes in their [L2 401 / mythology and religion]. 82% of the population of India are Hindus, and for a vast proportion of them their religion is fundamental to their lives. The central texts of Hinduism are known as the Vedas, and the most important of these is the "Rig Veda," in which the monsoon plays a crucial role.
In the "Rig Veda," the god Indra (one of 33,333 Hindu gods) battles with a dragon called Vrtra. Indra has to use all of his powers to defeat the monster, including invoking the winds to his aid, and using lightning bolts and thunder. In the end he kills him, and fashions the earth out of his dead body.
As a result of his slaying, the waters, which had been pent up in caves by Vrtra's henchmen, were released, and flowed down to the earth for the benefit of man. This is obviously a rainmaking myth, and it is interesting to see how all of the elements of the monsoon are evoked in the story: the winds, the storms and, of course, the rain. Many devout Hindus still see the breaking of the monsoon as a cosmic battle, replayed every year by the gods.
The arrival of the monsoon is considered by many to be in the hands of the gods, and people go to great lengths to propitiate them and ensure the arrival of the rains. Special tokens and [P 020 / images of gods] made from exotic materials such as mercury are installed in temples and prayed to. [P 008 / Large prayer meetings] are held. In Karnataka state, in 1988, the Minister of Agriculture ordered prayers for rain to be said throughout the state. In the town of Jamnagar, in 1986, sirens blew at 11:00 am, and all work stopped. All 300,000 citizens spent the next five minutes praying, united by their need for rain.
Sometimes the devices employed to bring the monsoon can seem bizarre. In [M001 / Tamil Nadu], the rain god Varuna is appeased by the marriage of donkeys. A male and female donkey are dressed in full traditional wedding clothes, and a full religious ceremony is performed by a Hindu priest.
In the past, children have been sacrificed by Rajasthani villagers to bring the rains, so pressing is their need for rain. Although totally illegal, rumors still circulate today that the practice is still secretly performed.
Even Christians in India have developed methods of causing the rains to arrive. Christian farmers in the state of Goa carry large rocks up hills as an act of penance, in hopes of stimulating the rains. If it has not arrived by the Feast of St. Anthony on June 13, farmers lower a statue of St. Anthony into their wells, which they believe is guaranteed to bring the monsoon.
The purest and oldest method of causing rain is through song. In [L2 402 / Indian music] there are hundreds of rain-making ragas, which, when sung by masters, can apparently cause the clouds to form and rain to fall. The two most powerful ragas, which are still in use today, are Deepak, which is supposed to generate enormous heat in the vicinity of the singer, making it so hot that all the candles in the area will spontaneously light. The second, Malhar, cools the throat of the singer, and brings rain which is strong enough to extinguish the candles and adequately [P 017 / water the crops]. To western minds this may seem faintly ridiculous, but it is of great importance to the more spiritually-oriented peoples of India.
When the monsoon arrives, it is celebrated all over the country, and there are often elaborate festivals. One of the most famous of these is Teej, which is celebrated in Rajasthan, on a date dependent upon the monsoon's arrival. Women and children play on flower-bedecked [P 022 / swings] hung from trees, the women wearing special green and white striped veils. Teej is a double celebration for Hindus. For as well as celebrating the arrival of the rains, it marks the reunion of two of the most important gods in the Hindu pantheon - [I015 / Shiva] and Parvati. Elephants, lavishly decorated, carry an image of [I019 / Parvati] through the streets to the Shiva temple and people dance for joy along its procession.
The monsoon is traditionally an auspicious time for weddings. Its associated meanings of bounty and fertility, give the country a very torrid aspect. Birth rate figures show that there is a large jump in births in March, nine months after the arrival of the monsoon. In Indian tradition, the monsoon represents a casting away of inhibitions, a time when affairs are embarked upon and lovers taken. The meeting of the earth and the clouds, through the medium of the rain, is a very potent and sensual time, and this transmits itself to the peoples of India.
The rejuvenating effects of the monsoon extend themselves into the [P 012 / traditional medicine of India], known as [G 02 / Ayurveda]. Many people wait until the monsoon before embarking on courses of treatment for various ailments. The simple fact of new vegetation growth caused by the rain, combined with the cooler temperatures brought by the monsoon, does in fact make it a psychologically good time to start of course of treatment.
