Red Rain of India
Posted on April 23, 2011
Late 2006, I was entertaining onboard a ship touring South Asia and The Middle East. It was an amazing and intense five week engagement. I performed only five shows during my contract, but I was on tour in port most days from early morning until late evening, visiting what was for me a new and fascinating world. With high powered guest lecturers on board speaking on the social, economic, political and cultural history and current tapestry of the regions we explored, it was a highly educational and enriching experience. One engaging lecture given told the story of the Red Rain of India.
While buildings fell in New York City on 9/11 in 2001, red colored rain was falling on the southern Indian State of Kerala. I suspect that all news stories about this event were lost in the wake of one of the worst tragedies to befall North America. However, things were quite different for the people living in the districts of Idukki and Kottayam. Afraid and uncertain as to the cause of the falling red rain, many of the local people ran out onto the streets and fell to their knees in prayer, convinced it was the end of the world.
While we were touring Kerala, coincidentally, the BBC released a documentary on this occurrence that featured scientist, Chandra Wickramasing, one of the leading experts studying the Red Rain Phenomena. Dr. Wickramasing was a guest traveling onboard with us, so I was privileged to have first hand information on this incident that until this time, was relatively unknown throughout much the world. The Red Rain of India never gained widespread attention until 2006.
The cause of the Red Rain of India remains to be a topic of ongoing debate among the scientific community. Explanations have ranged from hypotheses involving bat blood, to meteor fallout, to dust storms, to extraterrestrial life forms and more.
For me, the story posed an interesting question: what would happen here in Vancouver, my home city (where it's known to rain a lot), if one day the sky opened up and red colored water began to pour through the clouds, falling on people, staining our streets, cars, buildings and laundry hanging out on clothes lines?
This story inspired my song, Red Rain: a call to action to address our global issues and save our planet.
LISTEN to Red Rain
BUY Red Rain MP3 at Apple iTunes
See Red Rain of Kerala for more information on this natural phenomena.
