Editorial note: Monsoon, Rains, Water

Kerala, India, Flower, Flora, Pink, Rose, Green, Leaf

When we conceived of this issue a couple of months ago, the monsoon season was on in full swing across South Asia. Strangely enough, in Southwestern Ontario, where I now live, scarcely a day passed us by in July — a month that corresponds to seasonal monsoon showers across many parts of India, my home country — when it didn’t rain. In the age of climate change, this perhaps shouldn’t come as a surprise, but I can tell you the rains brought both me and our backyard vegetable garden much happiness.

Monsoon, rains, water — the very mention of these words brings to mind a swirl of images — of lush greenery, of raindrops hammering rooftops, of children dancing in the rain. Along with the rejuvenation of lives, rains also inspire a dance of the spirit as it makes desires soar. At the same time, rains can mean damage and destruction, especially in our climate-altered world.

In this issue of The Woman Inc., we celebrate this dancing and soaring of the spirit and also reflect on every other emotions wetness can spawn — metaphorically or otherwise — with poetry, fiction, non-fiction, photo essays and artwork. We invite you to imagine yourself sitting by a window, a cup of your favourite hot beverage in your hand, watching the rain fall as you immerse yourself in the beauty of the words and images shared by our contributors.

~ Bhaswati