Filmy Weather (7): Tya Ratri Paus Hota, a Night of Artificial Rain

“Tya Ratri Paus Hota” is a Marathi film released very recently in 2009. The title translated literally would mean ‘it rained that night’. It is not, however, the story of just one long rainy night. In fact, nothing much happens during the night except towards the climax.

The rainy night brings together by chance Avinash (Subodh Bhave) and Raavi (Amruta Subhash), brother and sister, after many long years of separation. Earlier in their childhood, the two children and their father Vishwas (Sandeep Mehta) and mother Gayatri (Sonali Kulkarni) have been a happy family. But there is a villain in the story, politician Shripatrao (Sayaji Shinde), a man of evil designs. He falsely implicates Vishwas and gets him sent him to jail. When Gayatri seeks his help to get her husband released, he agrees but makes her pay a heavy price for this favour. Vishwas is furious when he comes to know of it, and unaware of the fact that what Gayatri did was only for his sake, he leaves home with Avi, and Raavi is left with Gayatri.

When Avi and Ravee meet on that rainy night, they exchange the half-truths that they had known and lived with, and the real and complete truth emerges. By that time it is morning and the movie ends on a ray of hope.

Unlike most other rain-soaked movies, thunder and lightning are conspicuous by their absence in “Tya Ratri Paus Hota”. The film does begin with a scene shot in a heavy downpour, but the rain continues in the form of intermittent showers, some of them heavy, to use the meteorologist’s language. Rains are also a part of some of the flashback scenes, and the songs speak of overcast skies and cloudbursts. However, there are no particularly good natural shots of rain that would justify the title of the film. What we see is mostly water trickling down the roofs, or rainwater drenched in blue light, or car headlights beaming through the rain.

The story attempts to revive memories washed away in floods and long forgotten. It has flashbacks of happiness drowned in cloudbursts of lust, greed and exploitation. “Tya Ratri Paus Hota” is more like a night of artificial rain that the story could even have done without!

R R Kelkar

Kalidasa – Kavee kee Shastradnya

An article in Marathi by Prof R R Kelkar entitled “Kalidasa – Kavee kee Shastradnya” was published in the Marathi newspaper “Sakal” from Pune on 23 June 2009.

Click here to read

Kalidasa’s Meghadoot and Monsoon Meteorology

I had delivered a lecture at the Marathi Department of the University of Pune on 9 February 2009 in which I had presented a meteorologist’s view of the poetic fantasies of fourth century Sanskrit poet Kalidasa in his ‘Meghadoot’ and the modern day Marathi monsoon poems of Mangesh Padgaonkar.

Abhijit Ghorpade who attended my lecture, has reviewed and paraphrased my talk in an article in the Marathi newapaper ‘Loksatta’ published from Pune on 22 February 2009.

Click here to read the article.

R. R. Kelkar

Marathi Article on Artificial Rain

An article in Marathi by Prof R R Kelkar on Artificial Rain was published in the Marathi newspaper “Sakal” from Pune on 13 August 2008. Click here to read

Marathi Article on Monsoon Onset over Kerala

An article in Marathi by Prof R R Kelkar on Monsoon Onset over Kerala was published in the Marathi newspaper “Sakal” from Pune on 8 June 2008. Click here to read.

Marathi Article on World Meteorological Day 2008

The World Meteorological Day was celebrated on 23 March 2008. This year’s theme was “Observing our planet for a better future”. An article in Marathi by Prof R R Kelkar on the significance of this theme, was published in the Marathi newspaper “Sakal” from Pune on 23 March 2008. Click here to read.

Marathi Article on Bali Climate Conference

The UN World Climate Conference was held at Bali in December 2007. A report on the status of the global climate of 2007 was also released at that time. An article in Marathi discussing the contemporary issues related to climate change by Prof R R Kelkar was published in the Marathi newspaper “Sakal” from Pune on 2 January 2008. Click here to read.

Marathi Article on Winter Weather

An article by R R Kelkar on the weather of the winter season over India has appeared in the Marathi newspaper Sakal on 21 November 2007. Click here to read. It covers topics like western disturbances, snow, winter rains, fog, cold waves, etc.

Marathi Article on Climate Change

An article on climate change written by Prof. R. R. Kelkar was published in the Marathi newspaper ‘Sakal’ in its Pune edition of 23 January 2007. It covers various aspects like climate monitoring, modelling and prediction, global warming, economic and political implications, and international initiatives. Click here to read.

Marathi Article on Monsoon

An article on the Indian southwest monsoon written by Prof. R. R. Kelkar was published in the Marathi newspaper ‘Sakal’ in its Pune edition of 20 June 2007. It covers various aspects such as onset and advance of the monsoon, rainfall variability, monsoon trough, breaks, monsoon lows and depressions, and association of the monsoon with Indian music and culture. Click here to read.