Yellow Watermelons  by Ajit Chandrasekhar   Yellow watermelon with four servings on steel plates   Mahadev was a farmer. His farm was near Gopalpur on the Orrisa-Chatisgarh border. The nearest town was Rourkela which is about one hundred kms away. He had a family. His wife was Sharada, and he had two children, a son, Harish, and a daughter, Nisha. He grew vegetables, fruits and even some grain such as wheat and rice. One year, the entire Orrisa State was faced with a severe drought. There was very little rain. Most of Mahadev’s crops failed, except a few watermelons which were saved. There was a severe water shortage and most people had very little to eat. Mahadev gave his watermelons to his neighbours, and as he was giving the last watermelon, his wife Sharada was very angry. ‘How can you give all the watermelons away. What about me and my children? You should have kept at least one watermelon for the family.’ Mahadev tried to explain to...

The Watermelon Story: Interview with Ajit Chandrasekhar  on 'Yellow Watermelons'   Read the story here. Print.Able: Good Morning Ajit. Thank you for sharing the story about the farmer’s family in Orissa. We have some questions for you.   Print.Able: Why did you set the story in Orissa? Ajit: Long ago, when I lived in Mysore, someone told me a story about watermelons in Orissa.   Print.Able: Have you ever yellow watermelons? Ajit: Yes I have. Print.Able: Did you like them? Do they have a distinctive flavour? Ajit: Yes, I liked them a lot. They taste very different from the pink watermelons. Print.Able: Are the weather phenomena, the drought and the cyclone you write about in the story based on fact? Ajit: Yes, that is quite common in Orissa. Print.Able: Have you ever visited Orissa? Ajit: Yes Print.Able: Where did you go, and when? Ajit: We went to Bhuveneshwar, Puri and Konarak and also saw the battlefield at Dhaulagiri on the banks of the Daya River where Ashoka f...

  The Data Man Interview with Ajit Chandrasekhar Regarding the Bangalore Weather     'Weather in Bangalore' by Ajit Chandrasekhar can be accessed here.   Print.Able: Good Morning Ajit. Thank you for the fascinating post on the extremes of the Bangalore weather in 2024.   We have some questions for you.   Print.Able: Have you always been interested in the weather? Ajit: Yes. From when I was around ten.   Print.Able: Was there anyone else in your family who was interested in the weather and meteorological phenomena? Ajit: Not on a regular basis. I was found it interesting on my own.   Print.Able: Do you remember any significant weather-related incidents from your childhood. Ajit: We had some friends who recounted to me that when their family went to Coimbatore one winter, it was 10 ° C and they were all shivering.   When everybody saw the Coimbatore weather report in the paper, they thought it was ...

  Weather in Bangalore 2024  by Ajit Chandrasekhar     This year, 2024, has seen the second hottest summer, 39 ° C (102 ° F) and the heaviest rainfall in recorded history. 190 mm (19 cm) or 7.4” on 21 st October from 6 pm to midnight 21/22 October, breaching the record of 179 mm of rainfall in September 1988.   The hottest summer I have seen was in 2016 with the hottest day of 40 ° C (104 ° F) on 24 th April, 2016. Everybody was shocked. Bangalore is higher than many other places, 3200’ (approximately 930 m) above sea level, which is why it is usually cooler than surrounding areas. Normal summer temperatures in Bangalore are 34 ° C in the day and about 23 ° C at night.   I have seen in the newspaper that many people are predicting that winter will be colder than normal in 2024/2025. But one can’t say till we actually see it happening. I have experienced 9 ° C (48 ° F) in the year 1974/75. Two days, once in December and once in ea...