Here Comes the Rain

As he gazed down from his celestial abode, the Almighty was happy to see the denizens of Kathmandu Valley building temples galore with great zeal. “These simple folk are leaving no stone unturned to honor me. They deserve to be rewarded.” So, He, the most benevolent, blessed the valley with fine weather that would be the envy of all others.  However, He was dismayed to observe that with the progression of the various seasons, his faithful people suffered from disease during the hot summer months. “It is due to their lack of awareness,” He thought. “They do not know much about how to keep their environment clean.”

He was, of course, patient with his chosen ones. He thought, “They need more time to develop the infrastructure to ensure a better environment. In the meantime, I must do something to ease their distress.” He ordered the heavens, “Be generous in pouring clean rain water on the valley during the hot months!” The rubbish scattered round its many lanes and streets would be washed away. It would also increase the flow of the valley’s sacred rivers and make them less polluted. At the same time, He did not wish the heavens to be over-enthusiastic and bring floods and devastation. He well remembered how difficult it had been, ages ago, to drain the great lake that was once the valley so as to make it inhabitable.

Another thing on His mind was that his favorite valley was becoming more ever more crowded, resulting in chronic water shortage. The usually clean denizens were beginning to be odorous due to lack of water for bathing. More serious was that even when He had provided numerous ice-fed rivers, the people did not have the good sense to build adequate storage capacities. Besides ensuring 24-hour running water, it would also have rid the dictionary of the word ‘load shedding’.  But, the foolish people bickered and politicked continuously for 200 years and more, and nothing concrete was achieved. 

In their desperation, the foolish denizens began pumping out the precious groundwater at an alarming rate, and even the abundant monsoon rains were failing to replace the loss. Then, his loyal but foolish people went about constructing concrete roads and housing developments over the hereto fruitful fields, which prevented the rainwater from seeping into the ground. He is certain it will not be long before groundwater reserves dry up altogether. Still and all, He loves his people, and so even if he is angry, their suffering gives him sadness, and he waits for them to wake up to reality. He is not vindictive towards them and still commands the heavens to be generous in their favors to the blessed valley. He loves his people so much that he has ensured that they get a comfortable average between 200-375 mm of rain and that it usually rains during the night. All things being favorable, this year, too, the valley can expect satisfactory monsoon rains.

http://www.ekantipur.com/the-kathmandu-post/2014/06/18/related_articles/postplatform--here-comes-the-rain/264064.html