The Monsoon Begins!

We've been waiting in 90 degree weather (plus humidity) for 7 weeks for the rain to start, and it finally did! It's been raining for the past 4 days straight, so Charishma and I thought we'd take a little walk over to the Tapi River to see how much water there was.

~lakshmi

This is a view of the Tapi River going west towards Surat. The Causeway, the low-lying bridge about a kilometer downriver, is no longer visible. We were just there last week, and there was barely any water!

It took us a while to figure out how to get both of us and our umbrellas in the picture. Behind us, the muddy water of the Tapi!

Here is Charishma, and the Tapi River looking east.

This is a small creek over which the students built a bridge. We saw a couple fishing boats out on the water. Apparently in last year's floods, the bridge (from which this photo is taken) was completely covered!

Charishma is chasing a donkey! Donkeys are found everywhere in Kadod, along with monkeys, cows, dogs, cats, roosters, goats, and pigs.

This is the field in front of the larger boys' hostel. Beyond the donkey, you can see a kho-kho field. The amount of greenery in the area during the monsoon is breathtaking.

A couple of the hostel boys, Aakash and Pritesh, were playing "Follow The Leader" for a good 45 minutes, stomping in every puddle they could see.

The sun makes a brief appearance as it sets over the Tapi.