Sand, surf and the rain (Ramesh S Kurup, Kozhikode)
Kozhikode, Kerala, 27/06/2019: Rain through the trees at Mavoor .File Photo: S.Ramesh Kurup/The Hindu.
The Kozhikode beach photographs beautifully when it rains, but then there are many others in and around here such as the area around the Kuttiadi dam (Peruvannamoozhi Dam). The catchment area, after it rains, with its mountains and the river makes for a good photograph. There are some wonderful places, within the city, like the Mavoor wetlands where there is fish during the monsoons. The whole place erupts in celebration when the rains arrive - everybody starts fishing, locals are out on small boats looking for fish. Even during the floods, people enjoyed the rains. If it is about capturing rain-laden clouds, in the city, then the best place is over the Mananchira pond - the cloud formation is thick and you can see the clouds rolling in. The biggest challenge shooting in the rain or the rain, is getting the equipment wet. However much we protect ourselves from the rain - with raincoats and umbrellas, you can’t escape it neither can the camera. In the old days of film cameras you just had to dry the camera and lens, with digital cameras it is a whole new game - moisture just creeps in. The rains are not just about beauty and the perfect shot, it brings great calamity too. Like last year. Last year’s landslide where a few people lost their lives leaving the survivors devastated was tough, it is heartbreaking.
Clouds over the Palghat Gap (KK Mustafah, Palakkad)
With the onset of the monsoon, dark clouds gather over Kava, a picturesque village in Malampuzha, Palakkad. Located behind the famous Malampuzha Dam, it is one of the best destinations to chase the monsoon. Kava, which sits between Kerala and Tamil Nadu, is considered the gateway to rains in Kerala. There is a belief related to it. That the monsoon clouds for entire Kerala originate from the tall peaks of the Western Ghats, which stand guard around Kava. These mountain ranges, also called the Palghat Gap, are decisive when it comes to the rains. You could call Kava the womb of the rain bearing clouds, which then move on to other parts of Kerala. This is one of favourite places to capture the rain, as it arrives. Shooting in the rain is difficult, they restrict everything and especially ease of movement while framing a shot. The difficulty aside, often you can’t capture the mood or the intensity of the rain - that also becomes difficult. Post-processing is a factor. In a monochromatic or film camera the differences correct while developing and printing. With technology you can ‘correct’ an image but then that becomes manipulation.
The human element (Thulasi Kakkat, Kochi)
Back home in Kasaragod, one could see the rain approaching from afar—watch it come down the hill, making a noise. Here in the city, it comes and goes unceremoniously. A week before the monsoon arrives, preparations are on. We keep track of it and follow weather predictions rather keenly. Two to three days before it makes landfall, the clouds begin to form and the skies darken. Some of the best spots to catch the rain in Kochi are Fort Kochiand Kadamakkudy. While Fort Kochi offers a wider canvas, in Kadamakkudy, the expanse of backwaters and greenery create an essence of Kerala. Rain always photographs best against a green backdrop.
However, one of the best photographs I have of the rain was clicked in the middle of Ernakulam city. Romanticising the rain may seem easy in a photograph, but it is the human element that gives it life. The life within the frame communicates the beauty of the rain or the horror of it.
The rain canvas (H. Vibhu)
Fort Kochi guarantees a rain picture—with its Chinese nets and its vast canvas. Chellanam and Cherai are other spots in Kochi that have produced some great rain visuals, with the backwaters adding to the beauty. Rain in Kerala is calm. Very rarely do we get to see its horrifying face. Even if you take the rains that submerged the whole of the State last year, we never felt its fury until we saw the water levels rising.
For scores of photographers everywhere, Kerala has given some of their best rain photographs. From Alexander Frater who came here to catch it making its landfall to a number of others, Kerala offers a canvas, which is wider than most other places in India. Even a place such as Mumbai, the Marine Drive, shows a more dramatic face of the rain, with the waves crashing on to the shore.
(As told to Anasuya Menon and Shilpa Nair Anand)
