It rains most months of the year in Kerala, so just the first showers themselves are not enough to announce the arrival of the monsoon in Kerala. As the first state on the Indian mainland to receive the wet winds from the Indian Ocean, Kerala comes to life in myriad ways in the first week of June. Here are eight signs, apart from the rain itself, that the monsoon has come.
1. Paper boats
Among the bounties the monsoon gives to Keralites is the skill of making paper boats. As the skies open up during Edavapathi (the southwest monsoon) and the rain-kissed earth gives off the first fragrance of the wet months, Malayalees get ready with colourful paper boats to release into the water. Right from a very young age, kids learn to sail paper boats perfectly in the water. It is such a sport that kids have competitions in the neighbourhood.
2. Dirty new school uniforms
Edavapathi starts in the first week of June just as schools reopen for the new academic year. Wearing new-pinch uniforms, kids returning from school manage to end up getting drenched in the rain on their first day in school. It is a mandatory rite of passage.
3. Popy and Johns umbrellas
And guess how Keralites are reminded about the arrival of the monsoon? Umbrella ads on the telly. Popy and Johns, two rival umbrella brands in Kerala never fail to lure kids with their new designs including add-on features such as a torch, a whistle, a thermometer or some such bric a brac that kids enjoy. Popy's slogan 'Mazha Mazha Kuda Kuda Mazha Vanaal Popy Kuda' (Rain, rain, umbrella, umbrella, when it rains it's time for a Popy umbrella) was very popular with children of the 1990s. And who can forget the good old 'kalan kuda' (grandfather umbrella) which is still solid and classy with its cane-like handle.
4. Football in the puddles
It may seem strange to people from leeward lands that rain in Kerala is an occasion to play football. You kick the ball, thrash about, and scrum in the mud and get you pants dirty enough for mothers to get mock-angry and bring out their favourite detergent.
5. Spell-binding rainbows and swollen rivers
The smell of flowers, the scent of wet earth, the sound of thunder and the pitter-patter of rain on the window panes, spell-binding rainbows and swelling rivers are pan-Indian signs of the monsoon, but in Kerala it's the intensity that makes the difference.
6. Niagara in the nadumuttam
Kerala's housing architecture has evolved in the rain. 'Nalukettu' style houses have a 'nadumuttam' (a central open courtyard) where kids gather to have fun during the monsoon. Rainwater pours through the atrium and kids congregate to watch their own Niagara.
7. High-decibel crickets and frogs
And the sound of crickets and frogs are nowhere noisier than in Kerala during the monsoon.
8. Hot kappa and kachil
The monsoon is a time for Keralites to indulge in some lip-smacking monsoon snacks. Hot 'kappa' (tapioca) and 'kachil' served with spicy chilli pickle on a rainy day is a universal gastronomic delight. It's pure bliss to fill one's tummy with some delicious snacks and a cup of sulaimani chai on a rainy day.