The Rains - Jogja In November (Aug26)

The rain began Friday round lunch-time, the black clouds from Merapi up in the north arrived. In Jakarta & Sumatra there had been deluges the week before, instant flooding resulting. On Sunday community action on the Ciliwung River in North Jakarta had cleared rubbish washed downstream, which had added to the problem. On the same page of the Jak Post today another related item announced the intention of the police to issue fines for motorists who parked under bridges and overpasses during storms. Warnings would initially be given and no action taken against bike-riders, who merely stopped to don weather-proofs; otherwise those attempting to wait out the rain would be issued Rp250k tickets ($US18.40). There had not been a drop of rain in Jogja 4-5 months and late arriving when it came. Friday in the Sosro urban kampung, householders were immediately out clearing their gutters & drains. Rain like a heavenly assault when the clouds finally broke, fierce battalions machine-gunning the tennis court-cum-football field outside Nurul Huda Mosque, recently re-surfaced & painted. With the storm the playing field that early mornings hosted an aerobic class, transformed into swimming-pool & ice-rink for three tear-aways suddenly bursting out from the gang. Two boys and a girl throwing themselves onto the green waves, diving-sliding through the waters. Screams, laughs, cannon-balls & dodges, glistening chocolate and lustrous slick-back. Cavorting baby seals; mythic dolphins, such as danced alongside sailors in distant seas. Four point 5 years in Singapore, a feather duster would have done for the author looking on, open-mouthed from beneath a shelter. Staring agog and disbelieving. Woweee! A theme-park magically created helter-skelter without authorization, lacking safety-rails and all unsupervised. (The youngest monkey from the tiny corner-store opposite Red Palm, no more than five, plenty devil in the mite, but knows to return thanks for peanuts.) No alarmed parents or elders interrupting, calling or scolding the children.