Though rain has inspired joyous dances and music all over the world, India has a unique heritage of Monsoon Ragas which were composed and sung by legendary masters like Mia Tansen to initiate welcome showers to India’s parched forests and fields so that the land would be blessed with plenty… The music they composed has inspired painters, dancers and writers for generations. … “A lifetime of showers moistens the soul,” says an ancient proverb. And the shimmering, crystal-clear nuances of these beautiful words apply more to India’s colourful Monsoon culture than to any other art movement in the world. Rain and the magical season of Monsoon have always been the throbbing heart of Indian life and culture. Whether we are talking about music—classical, folk as well as devotional—dance, painting or sculpture, rains and their incessant music are a recurring theme in India’s many-splendoured art treasure, and not without excellent reason! It is well-known that India’s entire economy depends upon the timely coming of the Monsoons. Vignettes of farmers looking longingly at the skies for the first signs of fleecy black water-bearing clouds are familiar in our daily life. Folk songs welcoming the first thunder showers and streaks of lightning are sung in every village even today. The diverse dialects of India’s far flung villages are replete with songs welcoming the rains and their message of bounty.
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