Reports abound from Odisha about the scarcity of Monsoon this year. Many are apprehensive about Global climate changes contributing to the erratic monsoon.
Vagaries of monsoon is neither something new, nor unheard of. Its inherent tendency is to be bountiful one year, scanty the next. We see intermittent dry spells during the monsoon, shorter or longer in duration. A year of flood is followed by a year of drought, with repetitive precision.
My grandfather told me about the NA ANKA DUBHIKHYA (The Great Drought of 19th Century), which was told to him by his grandfather. NA ANKA in Odia refers to the years around 1885 - 1887 in the Gregorian Calendar. The monsoon rains, restricted to the summer months of June - September, failed spectacularly for a prolonged duration of at least three consecutive years.
There is no reason to believe that it was then caused due to Deforestation or Green House effect. It was simply the Dust Bowl years of Odisha. Hundreds of thousands died in that time span, due to hunger and malnutrition, caused by their dependency on the rain fed crop, which failed to crop up due to miserable monsoon rains.
The High Himalayas, with its Mt. Everest at its highest point of 29,000 feet, run East to the West, acting as a natural barrier to India from the bitter cold winds coming from Siberia and Pamir plateau. The tallest mountain range in the world gives India a unique geographical identity, keeping it warmer compared the other places in the world along the similar latitude.
It explains why Calcutta is hotter than Canton, China and Jaipur is hotter than Jacksonville, Florida - though they are in identical latitudes. The gigantic mountain range also keeps the monsoon restricted to the Indian subcontinent, providing ample rains during the summer months, while rest of the season it is mostly dry.
In contrast, the Rocky Mountains of America aren't tall enough and run North to South, unable to prevent the cold wave from Canada blasting through the Prairies into the Southern Plains. It also helps the moisture from Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Pacific Ocean reach out to the interiors of mainland America.
Himalayas has protected us from the likes of the marauding Mongol Chengiz Khan, who could have ravaged India. Only due to the limited access via Khybar pass we stayed better protected from many, if not all invaders, preserving our unique cultural identity.
Invariably every year, sooner or later, the monsoon arrives and leaves, with a highly inequitable distribution of rainfall - causing drought somewhere, flood else where. This Odia proverb aptly depicts the vagaries of monsoon :
JALA BAHULE SRUSTI NAASA,
JALA BIHUNE SRUSTI NAASA, meaning
"Lack of water causes catastrophe,
Excess of water causes catastrophe."
Vagaries of monsoon is neither something new, nor unheard of. Its inherent tendency is to be bountiful one year, scanty the next. We see intermittent dry spells during the monsoon, shorter or longer in duration. A year of flood is followed by a year of drought, with repetitive precision.
My grandfather told me about the NA ANKA DUBHIKHYA (The Great Drought of 19th Century), which was told to him by his grandfather. NA ANKA in Odia refers to the years around 1885 - 1887 in the Gregorian Calendar. The monsoon rains, restricted to the summer months of June - September, failed spectacularly for a prolonged duration of at least three consecutive years.
There is no reason to believe that it was then caused due to Deforestation or Green House effect. It was simply the Dust Bowl years of Odisha. Hundreds of thousands died in that time span, due to hunger and malnutrition, caused by their dependency on the rain fed crop, which failed to crop up due to miserable monsoon rains.
The High Himalayas, with its Mt. Everest at its highest point of 29,000 feet, run East to the West, acting as a natural barrier to India from the bitter cold winds coming from Siberia and Pamir plateau. The tallest mountain range in the world gives India a unique geographical identity, keeping it warmer compared the other places in the world along the similar latitude.
It explains why Calcutta is hotter than Canton, China and Jaipur is hotter than Jacksonville, Florida - though they are in identical latitudes. The gigantic mountain range also keeps the monsoon restricted to the Indian subcontinent, providing ample rains during the summer months, while rest of the season it is mostly dry.
In contrast, the Rocky Mountains of America aren't tall enough and run North to South, unable to prevent the cold wave from Canada blasting through the Prairies into the Southern Plains. It also helps the moisture from Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Pacific Ocean reach out to the interiors of mainland America.
Himalayas has protected us from the likes of the marauding Mongol Chengiz Khan, who could have ravaged India. Only due to the limited access via Khybar pass we stayed better protected from many, if not all invaders, preserving our unique cultural identity.
Invariably every year, sooner or later, the monsoon arrives and leaves, with a highly inequitable distribution of rainfall - causing drought somewhere, flood else where. This Odia proverb aptly depicts the vagaries of monsoon :
JALA BAHULE SRUSTI NAASA,
JALA BIHUNE SRUSTI NAASA, meaning
"Lack of water causes catastrophe,
Excess of water causes catastrophe."
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