Come On, Rain!

I can’t believe its August already and the rains are still playing truant, at least in  South India. While the local newspapers are rife with reports of monsoon failure and the impending drought, the rest of the country is flooding with excess rains! The cumulative rainfall data this year indicates that rainfall is 20% below normal in the country and yet you can always trust the meterological department to be optimistic about its prediction of revival of monsoon! Anyway, whether the weather predictions turn out to be accurate or not, one thing is official….monsoon 2012 does not hold the same force or charm like it did  before. But that doesn’t stop the retail malls from running their Monsoon Masti discount sales..now does it?? J

With everyone from the temple managements to State governments trying to appease the Rain Gods by conducting numerous poojas (sponsored by the tax payer!), I thought I would join in the prayers too by reading “Rain Rain” by Sanjiv Jaiswal “Sanjay” and illustrated by Ajith Narayan, A level 2 Early Reader from Pratham publications, part of its “Learning to Read” series that not only makes an excellent companion for graded reading but also comes in affordable prices. For a mom who is always looking for books with indigenous themes, it is such relief to find some home-grown publications that dabble into the Level-by-Level Reading. One word of advice, however, I find that there is no uniformity in the early reading techniques used in the series.  Though ‘Rain Rain” is a Level 2 book that my five year old managed to read without much effort, I have come across some Level 1 books that are tougher in language and grammar than this book! Anyway, this a story of a rain bearing cloud that rolls along merrily in the sky. Everyone makes an appeal for the cloud to rain, the peacock promising to dance, the fish needing more water, the farmer want to sow seeds, and little Raju wanting to float paper boats! Finally, when the cloud rains a shower of shimmering drops, the peacock spreads out its wings to dance, the fish happily swims in the water filled pond, the farmer plants seeds,and Raju and his friends have a wonderful time playing in the puddles. Everyone waved good bye to the cloud that filled their heart with joy! Here’s hoping that such a cloud rolls along the sky above us too!