Other side of the story: Floods, a blessing in disguise?

Destruction apart, the rains give desert dwellers a brief respite from their parched lives.

The people and their cattle of Thar Desert now have enough water to bathe - a miracle for anyone living in this bone-dry land.  At 70-year-old Bachal Bhunbro’s house everyone is running around getting ready to welcome relatives who are coming to celebrate the unexpected spring.

The rain may have wreaked havoc just a district away, but here it is cause for celebration.

The sand dunes have disappeared under a green carpet. The wells, which held saline water, are now brimming with fresh water.

The animals are fed and their sheds are prepared. Straw huts have been set up in the little village of Dangi Choo, in Saleh Pat.

Guests will come with their herds of cattle and stay with Bachal Bhunbro.

A shepherd, Babu, also had reason to celebrate. “Without rain, my goat will sell at Rs2,000,” he said. “But if it rains, the price goes up to Rs10,000.”

Published in The Express Tribune, September 17^th,  2011.