Here comes the rain!

Rain, rain, go away, come again another day, might be a popular refrain in colder climes, but not in India. This is monsoon time in the south and west and the north has not long to go before it welcomes the rains. But what is it about the rain that is so fascinating? Think about it and you will find that there are so many words related to the rain: rainbow, rain gods, rain dance, rain forests…

The legends of the rain gods
People have prayed for rain for centuries. Legends, stories and myths about rain abound in the mythology of countries as near as China and as far away as Greece. India too has a rich store of legends about the rain — from worshipping the rain god Indra, to stories of the famed singer Tansen who composed Raag Malhar in order to appease the rain gods and shower the land with rain. In Greece, rain was controlled by the Hyades, a trio of nymphets, who were daughters of Atlas. Rain was, it is said, brought about when their brother Hyas was killed in a hunting accident and all three sisters wept with grief. In many villages in Africa, rain dancing is a ceremony that is used in order to invoke the rain and performers of the dance wear both turquoise and feathers — symbols of the wind and rain.

A rainbow of hope
After the rain, as we all like to think comes a rainbow. Legend would have us believe all sorts of good things about rainbows. The Irish say that at the end of every rainbow lies a pot of gold; while the Greeks believe that the rainbow is a path made by Iris, messenger to the gods, between heaven and earth. The Chinese are somewhat similar in their beliefs — they believe that the rainbow is a slit in the sky sealed by the goddess Nuwa who uses stones of five different colours to do so. Other religions are more warlike in their beliefs with the Hindus believing that the rainbow is the bow of Lord Indra and the Arabs stating it is the war bow of their rain god, Quza.

Not all rain is good
In today’s age of global warming and climate change, a rather nastier version of rain exists. Acid rain is normal rain’s evil twin. It is caused by emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, which react with the water molecules in the atmosphere to produce acids. This might sound like science fiction — but it has happened in areas in China, Russia and the United States!

It’s in our expressions
As you might imagine, given our fascination for rain — it has even invaded the language we speak! As right as rain (very well); come rain or shine (in any weather); It’s raining cats and dogs (raining very hard); take a rain check (decide later); rain on someone’s parade (spoil something for someone); rain something out (ruin something).
Can you think of any more?