Rains always have and had  a mesmerizing effect on me  - it was all the more magical while growing up in Kerala -  don't know why, but rains in Kerala had that mesmerizing effect  - that wonderful earthy fragrance that wafted over me, as the first heavy drops kissed the dry surface. Sometimes lying on my bed and looking out of the window, watching the rain drops drip off the leaves of the "Money Plant" that twined around the mango tree in our year.  Don't think Calvin Klein, Dolce and Gabbana, Lancome et al could ever come up with a fragrance as wonderful as mother nature comes up with.

I loved to see the rain water running off the roofs -  onto ground and  forming  little rivulets and running off to wherever.  Of the little paper boats we used to make and float in those little streams and watch them being carried away wondering where they would end up. Monsoons in Kerala were magic.

At nights the frogs would start their Symphony of Love   - each of them had their unique ribbit ribbits - two places I have heard the frogs orchestra was in Kerala (from the ponds, the paddy fields, from the back yard)  and here in US near my old home which was close to a tiny lake. One amphibian would start somewhere and then others would pick it up and on and on  they would go through the night - each ribbitting its best to attract a mate.

In our Tharavadu (ancestoral home) - we used to have - as most of the older homes in Kerala had and open indoor courtyard - called a "nadumittam"  (middle-ground - not sure of the exact translation) mainly meant to bring in light and ventilation . When it rained it was wonderful  -it used to bring such a cooling effect. Gutters were built to carry the water outside.  At nights the froggies and the toadies used to make their way into the nadumittam and start their symphony  - though annoying it used to bring a sense of joy to all of us.

For those of you who have never had the fortune of spending an evening at Frog-o-phony recital  you are missing or have missed something. The first time you hear it you will hate it.  Soon, however, it will metamorphize into  something that is wonderful and in time will cast a spell on you and would turn out to be a unique kind of lullaby . 

Wile the  flames fan in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kashmir, and other parts of the world another greater calamity is in the maing - Pretty soon the love songs of the frogs will cease the world over, forever.   A deadly fungus called the Chytrid is slowly but systematically wiping out the frog population all over the world.

Over 170 species of frogs have fallen prey mostly to the fungus and some to other causes and have become extinct in the last 10 years and apparently another 1,800 species  face imminent danger.

If you, on a rainy night hear the ribbiting love calls of the amphibian - do not wish for it to stop but,  please, pause for a moment and enjoy the song  - for it may be the last time you may hear it.  Unless ofcourse.....................

The Year 2008  believe it or not has been named as the Year of the Frog.