Rain - Rachakonda Viswanatha Sastry / Ravi Sastry

Rain is a short story, originally written in Telegu by Rachakonda Viswanathasastry. The story deals with the plight of a young man, trapped by heavy rainfall in a roadside shack, who’s running late for his train to Calcutta.

The story begins with the young man, Purushottam, taking shelter from the pouring rain in a small roadside tea shack with an old man. Following a small conversation between the two about the rain, the author jumps back in time, and begins to describe the journey of the author up until the present point. Under pressure from family members to get married, the protagonist was sent to Adivipalem, a small village in Andhra Pradesh, to meet a prospective bride. After a day or two, Purushottam leaves the village, heading to the train station from which he intends to catch a train back to Kolkata. Smitten by her beauty however, the protagonist strongly wishes to return to the village and marry the lady. While travelling by ox-cart to the station, the protagonist finds himself trapped in a fierce gale. With that, the author returns to narrating the events presently unfolding.

Upon being told by the old man that the rain isn’t bound to stop any time soon, Purushottam feels agonized and distraught. He begins to rue his decision to venture to Adivipalem prior to completing his business in Calcutta. He summons to mind various instances of him blindly following his the instructions of his elders. An extract of which is shown below

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This had been his [Purushottam’s] approach in every matter. “If you don’t know how to swim, don’t get into the water, be careful.” “Of Course I won’t”. … “Inequity and injustice; why bother about it, mind your own business, otherwise you’ll land yourself in serious trouble, so take care.”

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The above examples are but two. More than 4 are given in the story in the same paragraph. Just as Purushottam seems to be on the verge of losing hope, the old man’s grandson, that the former had sent out to collect firewood prior to the start of the story, returns, surging through the pouring sheets of rain. The sight of a mere child defying such odds, fans the dying ember of hope inside of Purushottam. Inspired by the young boy’s courage and daring, Purushottam leaves the warmth and safety of the shack, braving the cold wet rains, and presses on towards his destination. Throughout the course of the story, Purushottam is depicted as an indecisive and relatively immature young man, blindly heeding the directives of his relatives, rather than making decisions for himself. He is not shown to be outgoing or outspoken, rather, keeping to himself the majority of the time.

Descriptive language and vivid settings are used often by the writer to emphasize the protagonist’s state of mind. For example, when Purushottam first sees his bride-to-be, the author paints a semi-surrealistic image of his surroundings, bathed in a warm positive light, in the reader’s mind. The heavy rainfall, the shack, and the looming clouds above, all come to symbolize the binding measures that have restrained his life, preventing him from unlocking his full potential. The conclusion of the story; the protagonist’s decision to leave the shack and venture into the rain, is particularly symbolic, as it is the first time, to our knowledge at least, that the man has committed himself to doing something of his own accord, and, by doing so, has indirectly dictated his own fate. The writer also presents a strong moral viewpoint through the story, to the reader, about the role of women in society. Despite the large role that the protagonist’s visit of his wife-to-be plays in the story, the aforementioned woman is hardly heard from at all, her silence, ironically innocuous.

The theme of obedience, be it filial, parental, or otherwise, is one that permeates this story from beginning to end. Almost all of the events in the story have been set into motion by the protagonist’s seeming inability to refuse the wishes and commands of his elders and relatives alike. Take, for example, his travelling to Adivipalem to meet a prospective bride. This only occurred because he, the protagonist, paid heed to the words of his maternal uncle. Prior to his stepping out of the shack, Purushottam lists various personal examples of obedience that he had once paid heed to. An example above, in the summary part, shows two such examples. By painting this picture, the author could be attempting to make a statement to the reader, of how over –protection, and our expectance of blind obedience from those younger than us, can, in the long term, have an extremely detrimental effect on both their mental as well as their physical wellbeing.