“The black sky just kept assuming deeper shades of black until, suddenly, it had blacked itself out entirely.”— Alexander Frater, Chasing the MonsoonDecades ago, Frater captured the raw drama of India’s monsoon in that line. But if he were witnessing the skies this week, he might swear those words were lifted straight from what’s happening around. The southwest monsoon stormed in early, almost as if it was racing against time to announce itself. Kerala welcomed monsoon over a week ahead of schedule. Mumbai, a city that usually has to wait patiently for more than 10 days after Kerala, saw its earliest monsoon arrival in over 75 years. Even Delhi, accustomed to hot dry spells, logged its wettest May since 1901.
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