Rain, Rain, Go Away, if Jigme had a way he would want to gather his harvest on a sunny day.
Every year, towards the end of September, Blessed Rainy Day (Thruebab Duechen) is celebrated in Bhutan for several reasons. On this day, all the water resources are believed to be pure enough to wash away accumulated bad Karma. Thruebab, for many years, marked an end of Monsoon and farming, and the beginning of harvest season. After 23rd September this year, Monsoon did not end and harvest could not begin, shower continued in all parts of the country through September and October.
In Paro, farmers are unable to harvest their crops which were left to dry for threshing due to prolonged monsoon. Farmers in Bhutan started to cut paddy for threshing following the age old tradition and belief that monsoon season would end after Thruebab Duechen. This year weather is taking an unfamiliar toll in a country where way of life is pretty much roadmap by the past experiences and certainties. Sun did shine for a day or two after Thruebab, barely enough to cut paddy, and rain continued there after without a sign of an end. Farmers helplessly witnessed their post harvest losses.
In Tsirang, Barsha wished the rain away on Dashain. She could not recall any of her past celebrations on a rainy day, and dearly wished for bright and sunny day, after her year-long wait for the festival. Most of her family and relatives postponed travel and waited for the atmosphere to clear to receive Tika from the next Keith and Kin. Jigme and Barsha had a very little knowledge about why the rain would not go away.
In the past, precipitation in the northern Bhutan was recorded at about 40 millimeters mostly snow. In the temperate central regions, a yearly average rainfall of around 1,000 millimeters, and 7,800 millimeters of rain in the southern region. Thimphu experienced winter months with high possibility of snowfall (December through February and March) with an average rainfall of 20 millimeters a month, which increased steadily thereafter to 220 millimeters in August with a total annual rainfall of 650 millimeters. Jigme’s decision and Barsha’s expectation is based on these facts, which have not remained the same.
In the last few years rainfall stats of Bhutan have changed, which could fairly be concluded from the continuing rainfall experienced towards the end of October and without certainty of snowfall in the main Thimphu City this winter. It leads to lot of question for the future, what would be the new reference for the farmers to make decisions? What kind of expectation should a new generations have, who are use to the past experiences? How prepared are we to avoid post harvest losses in the future?
