Stephen Alter's book captures the monsoon in all its infinite variety

Stephen Alter's The Fragrance of Rain blends nature writing, ecology and culture to capture the beauty, history and complexity of India's monsoon

The Fragrance of Rain: A Brief History of the Monsoon

By Stephen Alter

Published by Aleph Book Company

140 pages  ₹499

 

Stephen Alter’s The Fragrance of Rain: A Brief History of the Monsoon is a collection of ten essays written around the country’s most awaited season. What it’s not is a definitive history of the season, as the somewhat misleading subtitle suggests. 

The first essay, titled “Petrichor”, is actually a meditation on the rains and what they mean to someone living in the hills. The book opens with the striking image of gathering clouds and a storm brewing, which soon crosses the Shivaliks to reach the valley where Alter lives. From here, it seamlessly moves on to a short but scientific account of how the clouds form, travel, and finally release their precipitation, before talking about petrichor – the fragrance most commonly associated with rain. 

In the chapters that immediately follow, Alter takes his readers to Kochi, Munnar and then to Goa as he chases the monsoon across the country. One of the most prominent features of the entire collection is the vivid, almost lyrical, prose through which Alter transports his readers to wherever he is at the moment. One moment, we are watching clouds gather in the Shivaliks. A few pages later, we are transported to Anamudi peak near Munnar as we accompany Alter on his leisurely walk along the winding trails of Eravikulam National Park. And when we reach Goa, we are introduced to the Hilario mangoes of Siolim along with the Festival of San João, which is celebrated in the town towards the end of June. 

Through stories such celebrations of the season, Alter essentially links the monsoon with the socio-cultural fabric of the country. This idea forms the backbone of the chapters “The Monsoon as Metaphor” and “A Dangerous Season”. In the former, Alter delves into literature, art and films to reveal the long-standing cultural currency the season has held in India. He quotes poets from Kalidasa to Ghalib among the maestros and Eunice de Souza and Mamang Dai among the modern and contemporary writers who have made rains the subject of their work. In “A Dangerous Season”, Alter draws on the Ayurvedic and Unani practices used to keep oneself healthy in a season otherwise believed to affect health adversely. He then connects the dangers of the season to recent tragic episodes such as the flash floods and landslides that have claimed many lives in the recent past. Alter reminds his readers that the season’s tragic consequences, especially in the populated areas of the Himalayas, are not new. However, unplanned and often illegal construction has worsened this trend. This is something he touches on more than once, particularly in the final essay. 

Alter’s nature writing and ecological awareness form the core of the book and can be seen at work most clearly in “Beetle Hunting” and “Into the Jungle”. In both these essays, Alter provides vivid accounts of his experience of walking through two forests – one in Goa and the other in Mussoorie. While the latter essay recalls Alter’s experience of “herping” or walking through the forest in search of “reptiles, amphibians, insects, arachnids and any other creatures that emerge after dark”, the former is an excellent mix of personal essay and nature writing. The ecological aspects of Alter’s writing are at their most pronounced in these two chapters, along with “The Renewal of Life”, which is focused on plants and fungi. 

The chapter that comes closest to the collection’s subtitle is “Origins of the Monsoon” where Alter charts the advent of the monsoon through various sources. This includes Vedic mythology, according to which the monsoon can be “traced back to a titanic conflict between Indra, ‘lord of the firmament’, and Vritrasura, a powerful demon who was responsible for drought and held the earth’s waters captive”. This is followed by a short scientific account of the monsoon, along with a historical snapshot of the role the monsoon has played in the geographical and socio-economic fortunes of the region. 

In The Fragrance of Rain, Alter blends the personal with the ecological. This is a perfect book for readers who enjoy nature writing as well as those who want to get a taste of it without making too deep a commitment. The book is bound to make its readers long for a slower pace of life where they, too, can go on long walks in the rain. As the season advances under the shadow of El Niño and we wait for the monsoon to cover the entire country, Alter’s book reminds us that the monsoon brings with it much more than traffic snarls, overflowing roads and delays. 

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The reviewer is an independent writer and translator