NATUREism...

What does data tells us about Chennai's rainfall? Image generated by Meta Ai Chennai's connection with rain is dramatic. There may be a strong downpour one day, followed by dazzling brightness the next day. Recently, I have noticed a peculiar trend of sunny mornings followed by rainy nights. Perhaps the rain does not want to disrupt our daily commute during the daytime. In my previous piece, we have seen the trends of rainfall patterns in Chennai in the last decade. I got this idea of going a little deeper into the 100 years rainfall data to find more exciting insights. Here we go… Chennai Rainfall by season in the last 100 years. Data source: IMD Broadly, a few things are quite straightforward: February to April is generally dry, with either no or very little rainfall recorded. May to September has seen occasional rainfall, serving as a perfect relief from the sweltering heat. October to December is when the actual show begins. According to the data, these three months account...

Navigating a rainy street in Chennai. Generated by DALL-E AI Chennai was gearing up for a heavy downpour last week, and preparations were in full swing. Schools were closed, and private offices were advised to function remotely. People, as usual, were doing panic buying—because what’s a little rain without some chaos at the grocery store? My neighbour told me that the shops were practically empty. No vegetables, no fruits, no candles, no bread—basically, all the essentials were gone. And for those shops that still had stock? Well, they were selling items at five times the usual price. Because, obviously, what better time to make a quick buck than during a potential flood, right? Meanwhile, the news channels were filled with intense debates on changing weather patterns, potential floods, and the damage that might occur— all the negativity you can imagine. Panic was in the air, and I could sense it creeping into my own home. We were switching on the motor more than once a day, chargin...

About six month ago, my friends and I were birdwatching at Perumbakkam lake, one of the popular locations in Chennai. During our visit, we noticed this intriguing event - an uncanny encounter between Catfishes and a Spot-billed Pelican. It was a nice winter morning, an unexpected shower helped cope the weather. We drove down to the Perumbakkam lake, enroute T-Nagar and Old Mahabalipuram Road. The road looks quite occupied, from the cyclists pedaling their way along the corner to the bikers carefully maneuvering their way in between buses and cars. It wasn’t busy. It wasn’t calm as well. Peaceful Perumbakkam lake flourishes amidst urban encroachment  We reached the spot at around 7 am. A mustering of Painted Stork busily foraging the waterfront, immediately caught our eyes. It’s heavy yellow beak with down-turned tip, the dark orange head and light pink elongated slender legs are nowhere to miss. Meanwhile, there were a flock of Northern Pintails with its head dipped inside the wa...

As we waited patiently on the safari jeep, we heard a screeching call. "That's the spotted deer's alarm call," alerted our Jeep driver. Our safari guide, Dharma, confirmed that a big cat was nearby, which made us incredibly excited as we had been to numerous tiger reserves, wildlife sanctuaries, and national parks but had only spotted pug marks and droppings. We waited for a while hoping to catch a glimpse of the big cat, but it was an unnerving experience as we were on an open jeep. We carefully scanned the woods for any movement or noise. The forest was still except for the occasional crackling of dry leaves and twigs. The tall trees rustled softly in the wind, and the many bushes with tall grass provided an ideal hiding spot for any big cat. Each time we heard the spotted deer's screeching call, we turned around swiftly, searching for a tiger or a leopard, but to no avail. After around half an hour, we heard another safari vehicle approaching. The drivers and g...

சமீபத்தில் பேசு பொருளாகி உள்ள  பாண்டி கடற்கரையி ன் மணற்பாங்கான தோற்றம் எனக்குள் உதிர்த்த ஒரு சிறிய எண்ணோட்டப் பதிவு. புதுச்சேரி கடற்கரை ஒரு இனிமையான காலை பொழு து.  பாறைகளுடன் காட்சியளித்த புதுச்சேரி  நகரத்தின் கடற்கரையில் மணலைக் கண்டதும் சிலர் , ‘கடல் உள்வாங்கியிருக்கு!! ’ என்று கூறிவிட்டு வேகமாக நடையைக் கட்டினர். அவர்களுள் சிலர் கடலை சிறிது நேரம் நோட்டமிட்டு பின்பு ஆழ்ந்து யோசனை செய்வதைப் போல் நின்று விட்டு கடந்து சென்றனர். அதே மணல் வெளிப்படும் கடற்கரை பகுதியில் தெற்கில் இருந்து வரும் ஒரு பெரிய குழாயில் இருந்து கருமையான நீர் பீறிட்டுப் பாறைகளைத் தாண்டி கொட்டிக் கொண்டிருந்தது. அருகில் நாற்காலியில் அமர்ந்து இருந்தவரிடம் , சிலர் ‘என்ன?’ வென்றும் , சிலர் ‘ஏன் சாக்கடை நீர் கடலில் கொட்டப்படுது? ’ என்றும் விசாரித்தனர். விசாரித்தவர்களிடம் ‘மண் கொட்டி பீச் (கடற்கரை) ஆக்கப்படுது’ என்று அவர் பதிலளித்தார். ஆனால் கடற்கரைக்கு வரும் பலரின் கவனம் இதன் மேல் இருந்தது போல் தோன்றவில்லை. இதைப் பற்றி ஏற்கனவே தெரிந்திருக்கலாம் அல்லது தெரிந்துகொள்வதில் ஆர்வம் இன்றி இருக்கலாம் அல்லது...