STORM IN A CUP

LT COL NOEL ELLIS

 

30/V/2025

 

The other day we were talking about “Nau Tapa” the annual phenomenon of nine days of extreme heat which people of the Thar Desert in India have to bear. The extreme goes to 50°C +. People get scorched, especially those who work in the open. Flora and fauna come under extreme stress.

 

High speed winds and sandstorms called ‘Andhi and Andhad’ depending on their ferocity are common. In the day, one can see twisters rising up in the sky. Formation of ‘mirages’ becomes a common site. The roads shimmer as if water is flowing over them.

 

It is also called ‘Mrig Trishna’. It attracts Mrig/deer to quench their thirst towards this imaginary water body which keeps moving ahead as the deer approach in a quest to satiate their thirst.

 

Well, we had a pleasant and an unpleasant surprise. The weather became pleasant as the thick dust particles shaded the sun. Clouds came swarming, shutting the direct sunrays to bring the ambient temperature to a tolerable level.

 

However, what was unpleasant was the storm which followed after mid night. It rained and it poured with gusts of wind of more than a 100kmph. Reminded me of the “Typhoon Nisarg”. We were lucky that there was no hail storm, however, it rained elephants, giraffes, and rhinos.

 

At around 2am my wife woke me up as there was a big bang and a thud. We rushed to open the main door to check. The storm was at its peak. Rain was lashing hard. Trees were swaying and almost bent over. It appeared as if monsoon had arrived. It poured and it poured like hell.

 

Then the winds subsided and we retired to our room. Around an hour later, the winds picked up again and this time they blew harder. Trees were howling rather than whistling, shaking their canopies as if requesting the storm to go away. But the wind and the rain gods gave us everything “Chappar Phar ke’.

 

In the morning, I walked out of the house to check. It was a scene which was totally unexpected.

 

We were so proud that our small colony is the greenest in town. All along the lanes trees dote the sides providing shade and greenery. In our row, there were five trees which had fallen. Luckily, they didn’t damage any cars. Our pots were saved by a whisker. The green net had flown away. It had to be retied.  

 

The damage was substantive, which many morning walkers confirmed. There were ‘tree causalities’ in every garden and park. Ten to twelve year old broad canopied trees lay prostrate on the road. It would need a massive effort by the horticulture team to clear them, which they did till late evening.

 

In the morning, except for the visual destruction the area looked bone dry. The pots were wet but the road had no trace of any rain. That is how it is here.

 

It was time to go to the roof and check, as my Adeniums would have taken a hit. Their cortexes, which stand out of the pots get uprooted due to shallow roots. I was worried because those gusty winds may have toppled some pots over. They are fighters; thus, they would not take much time to recover, but still one had to check and put things right.

 

My heart sank when I saw one panel of our solar system resting on the parapet wall. It was shattered, indicating that our system was out of order. It broke a portion of the wall and missed my main fish tank by a hair’s breadth. The side had got damaged though. I shuddered at the thought that had it fallen on the big tub, all my guppies and mollies would have literally gone down the drain.

 

It was the closest shave of the century. An inspection gave me some solace that all the fish and about 200 of them surfaced to greet me. Probably, they were telling me about the ordeal they faced last night and how frightened they were. I sympathised with them and told them to be strong and brace themselves for more storms.

 

One adenium on which the solar panel had fallen, broke from the centre. One pot fell in the waterlily tub. Rest all were fine, which let me breathe a sigh of relief, as compared to what I had just witnessed on the road infront of our house. It was blocked and two Almond trees were ‘no more’, uprooted from the ground completely.

 

We had the panel replaced and checked thoroughly for more damages. In the evening, the green net was tied again. What if the weatherman sends another warning of a storm today! Will he? I wonder!!!!!

 

JAI HIND

©® NOEL ELLIS