By Late Teddie J Rodrigues ( Author of TRACES )
Posted By : Ashley D'souza
Given 500 years of cultural Osmosis The East Indians Displayed an amazing diversity in terms of occupation and community lifestyle
The East Indians owned vast tracts of land and properties , The Early East Indians flair for blending with natural habitat is evident in the occupations across the settlement , Laterite Soil which has high water retention capacity , Resulted in a lot of EIs Turning vast tracts of land into Paddy Cultivation , They became the creamy layer who took to farming ( As Kunbis ) and eventually became Landlords .
The Monsoon to the native in these times they long for after the swelthering heat of summer it not only cools but helps grow food for its people and sufficient water to drink its heaven sent and means food rice and vegetables on the table , there is nothing more wonderful and pleasant than to hear the sound of the rain on tiled or thatched roof , the thunder and flashes of lightning and the children frolicking in the rains boasting of new umbrellas rain coats and rainy shoes , to the Englishmen it meant and they expected life to come to a stand still all work to be suspended and all social intercourse to come to a standstill ,
But this was practically not so , something very different occurred , the wooden cupboard jammed the shoes bloomed with a fine blue and white mould , overnight the sweat soaked dresses rotted on their pegs and condition became worse rather than better instead of coolness the humidity increased and once the rain stopped it was like a sauna bath . the dampness in the air seemed to exclude that unreliable comfort to them it was like being shut in a room with hundreds of cauldrons boiling all day , but this would all change within a fortnight or so this was just the beginning of the monsoon and soon coolness would set in and the rains became a pleasure rather than dull Dejection
In the early days when the railway were introduced in the latter part of the 1800’s the native East Indians came to Bombay from long distances in search of job opportunities in the city people from places as far as Virar , Bassein , Manori , Gorai , Uttan and Dongri Kalyan and Thana came to this city having to walk great distances to first reach the nearest railway station they had to wend their way through jungles infested by wild beast , For miles every evening to reach their homes , Hence many of them stayed in the city and its suburbs at the homes of relatives and slowly they brought their own houses or rented rooms and every weekend or monthly would go back to their villages with their earnings where their wives and children awaited them anxiously
On the roads and paths they had to traverse were wild beast like tigers , jackals , foxes , snakes and other reptiles often seen roaming freely these were a continuous threat , There were salt water creeks to cross consequently dependent on tides , miles of muddy and slushy roads and pathways during the monsoon and the constant terror of being bitten by snakes or being robbed as night fell ,
Besides there was the fear of Ghosts and other apparitions like the Gira or Poltergiest a noisy mischievous Ghost creating disturbance and at times causing physical damage
The advent of the monsoon is heralded by the change in the wind directions when at the end of May or Early June soft cool winds started to blow from the south west , these were especially felt during the early hours of the morning , one knew that the monsoon is at hand and frantic last minute preparation in and about the house are carried out , the monsoon usually breaks in the late afternoon with a crescendo of thunder and flashes of lightening and a whirlwind breeze ,
The first fall of the rain brings a fragrant smell of the parched earth and of the tiles on the roof as they get wet , as an unknown author put it the monsoon usually brings out in great force all the lower orders of life these are the riff raff of animals and insect societies
Sonorous frogs , flying ants , beetles of all sort , odoriferous garden bugs in various and beautiful colours , idle butterflies , moths fire flies , grasshoppers and rats and mice all seems to come home for the monsoon holidays , it seems that the rats and mice had been out at summer camp and are just
coming home for the rainy season , they now seek their homes in the house of the humans in nooks and crannies , in holes and chest drawers laying their young in every conceivable comfortable place among books and clothes
But with the others the case is different they frolic in the rain and make merry .the last few months which were dry and hot have been a time of famine for them , there was no Sustenance anywhere the ponds and talaos were dry the grass all withered and neither was food or shelter to be had , while the rapacity of snakes and birds and others of their enemies was at its zenith , hence having no man made relief works to go to or help them all these mutinous pestilences had been compelled to pass their time in a state of suspended animation ,
But now the smell of rain with its promises of full pond and puddles green grass and wood decay in refuse and all manner of luxuries has revived them again and they wake up from their long slumber
The frogs leaves its grave in the mud emerges a strange looking object , as yellow as turmeric from the effects of many months bleaching , it plunges forthwith into a life of the wildest riot confounds night and day hops about and splashes and fights and makes such a Raucous noise croaking like an old fool until the carnival is over
The monsoon is also the season when football games begin at all grounds and open spaces when the goa ferry and the train from Neral to Matheran is stopped when the mango season gets over and gives way to plums and peaches from Kashmir and fresh fish disappears from the bazar and markets and now only dry fish takes its place and the schools reopen for the new academic year and traffic policeman stand under large umbrella and wearing yellow mackintosh ,
It is also the season for colds cough and running noses , the roads and lanes being flooded and wet clothes and dampness to endure when trains are running late and the buses keeping no schedule and old dilapidated houses collapsing roofs leaking and new pot holes in the roads and great traffic jams in the cities
But the monsoon is also longed for after the sweltering heat now soft cool winds blow and the night are cooler and all the garden and maidans and other open spaces turning green over night and there is more water as the supply of water starts filling up and the children playing in roadside puddles enjoying getting wet and the roads and street getting a clean wash , to most people coming in from the north where they are used to very little rain the monsoon is such a bore but to the natives of konkan it is heaven , June 7th is the proper day when all the native east Indians expect the monsoon to break
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