Dhaka’s rhythm of heat and rain

A tree toppled during the recent nor’wester is being cleared away from Ramna Park.***

It was as if the heavens took offence at my last piece on Dhaka’s heatwave shaming. They replied with thundering, sharp cracks like the lash of a whip, ripping the sky with electrifying jolts of lightning. Then came the rains -- pouring until our scorched moods softened and we had our fill.

Kalboishakhi, our nor’wester, is an intense, fleeting storm that strikes almost without warning. It lashes the horizon as though the sky itself has fractured. This is the unpredictable rhythm of our summer month, Boishakh.

This rain relief should not be confused with the monsoon rains. Those are the incessant downpours with occasional breaks. What we witnessed was the sudden darkening of the northwest sky, heavy black clouds, and violent, localised thunderstorms with high winds and often hail. These are the pre-monsoon rehearsals, striking between March and May. And there is a certain indescribable beauty to both.

With fierce Kalboishakhi storms and hail, you will invariably hear of green mangoes taking a hit. You’ll see young and old alike hurrying to collect that windfall -- in every sense of the word. Alongside this fun comes the joy of getting drenched to the core. Whenever I sense an overcast sky inviting heavy clouds, I rush to the roof as though my plants need tending. I love getting wet in the rain, and to this day I still indulge in a “brishti te bheja” -- a deliberate soaking in the downpour.

That reckless streak in me revels in the electric charge of the air. Kalboishakhi never begins as a drizzle; it falls all at once, a torrential weight, warm yet striking like cold stones against my skin. In the roar of the storm, if you dare to step outside, its splendour is both terrifying and magnificent -- you are stripped down to nothing but nerves and adrenaline.

When the chaos of the downpour subsided, I paused to appreciate the sunset over Dhaka. My mood was perfectly tuned to the storm’s frequency.

I was returning from an errand, crossing Uttara’s third phase, when I was met by that rare golden light of dusk -- the kind that appears only after a heavy rain. shower, when the setting sun sheepishly offers its last perfect glow. That golden light after a stormy sunset is often called the photographer’s hour. Though I spent much of my career conducting photoshoots, I was a poor photographer -- I could never truly capture the divinity of that “godhuli logon”, that twilight hour.

The evening’s golden light, a rainbow arched across the sky, a cool breeze, and rain-drenched greenery bursting with joy -- together they made last evening a gift I will not forget, but only until the next heatwave.

I stopped by the famous Uttara farmer’s market and treated myself to a steaming cup of tea, a naga shingara, and onion fritters -- not forgetting to buy a bag full of fresh greens. The array of shak, the leafy greens or edible leaves on the outskirts of the metro, deserves its own story.

For now, let us savour these short-overcast hours and sudden storms. Dhaka is forecast to see a wet week ahead, with heavy rain dominating most days through early May. Expect frequent thunderstorms, cooler temperatures compared to the recent heat, and high humidity.

So, keep your umbrella handy, enjoy the cooler evenings after the storms, but never forget the electrolyte drink. And let us welcome the storms as fleeting gifts -- moments when Dhaka’s heat loosens its grip, and the city glows in that golden twilight, reminding us that even the fiercest rains leave behind a gentler light.