Dear Readers,

The Rain Gods have finally begun to smile down on us scorched and sweating minions, bringing in much reprieve from the sweltering heat, when temperatures reached staggering, record-breaking highs, nation-wide. So, we heave a sigh of relief at this welcome change and finally stop complaining about the horrifying heat… only to soon start whining about the portentous potholes and vile water-logging and the endless traffic-jams that are the hallmark of the rainy season.

Over the next few months, Mumbai and most parts of India, will yet again have to endure the lashing rains and the resultant floods, paralysing life, disrupting power and drinking water supplies, and exposing the precarious state of our infrastructure. Even so, we are thankful for the bounteous blessing of water – the most crucial of all factors for the very sustenance of all life on earth.

As grateful as we are for the rains, we need to be more responsible and conscious about our role in the overall ecosystem. Because when we don’t, we learn the hard way. Mother Nature is very patient and tolerant but when things come to a head, we get to experience Her wrath, time to time.

Be it a hurricane, a storm, a pandemic or any other natural disaster, the first realisation that hits us, in the face of these titanic occurrences, is our powerlessness and the negligibility of our existence. It’s a humbling reminder to all of humanity to understand our place in the universe. But more so, to respect the power of Nature and not take it for granted. In the words of British writer, Barbara Ward, “We have forgotten how to be good guests, how to walk lightly on the earth as its other creatures do.”

Have a good weekend!

– Anahita