This week, passengers arriving at Kempegowda International Airport were met with an amazing view — a huge black cloud hanging low in the sky over the runway and casting what can only be described as an almost theatrical shadow across the airport.
The size and density of this particular cloud made an otherwise boring travel day into a truly awe-inspiring experience. Travelers stopped in their tracks, airline workers paused to stare at the displays above them, social media feeds began to fill with pictures of the unique contrast created by the tails of airplanes and the heavy, dark sky.
Nature’s stage in the City of Silicon
Since becoming globally recognized as India’s IT centre, Bengaluru has had its share of visually stunning and dramatic monsoon clouds. However, this cloud really had its own beauty. The cloud mass appeared to be sculpted and layered as it moved through the sky; its depth and darkness were so rich that it looked as if it contained some kind of hidden message that spanned centuries.
Meteorologists refer to clouds of this magnitude as a Cumulonimbus mammatus, which indicates that the cloud will produce significant rain, thunder, and lightning. Even though flights continued under the normal weather precautions, the visual nature of this cloud changed the atmosphere of the airport from one of just simply weather to an artistic creation.
To many, this scene was reminiscent of the poem, Meghadūta, originally described in classical Sanskrit and written by Kalidasa. In Meghadūta, or “The Cloud Messenger,” a yaksha, or demigod, requests a cloud to serve as the messenger to deliver a love note to his wife back home.
For Kalidasa, the cloud is not simply a weather event; it is a wanderer, a companion, and a connector of hearts that are far apart.
It traverses throughout the landscape as it passes through lands, towns, rivers, and mountains while looking over and connecting to the world around it.
As I stood under the massive, dark cloud at the airport, which is a symbol of departure and reunion, the similarity was astonishing; like the cloud was the messenger of two lovers who have been separated, the airport witnesses an abundance of emotional goodbyes and emotional reunions.
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Social Media’s Poetic Perception
Photos of the cloud quickly circulated on social media as users referenced verses from Meghdoot to describe the cloud as a “modern messenger.” Some likened the airport’s runway to the ancient pathways traveled by the original cloud on its way north.
This combination of classical literature and personal experience resonated with a city that has been built on technology and innovation; one unexpected moment of natural beauty allowed people to return to the poetry of ancient India written over 1,000 years ago.
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Weather and Wonder
Scientifically speaking, these formations were likely the product of winds carrying moisture along with the warm air being forced upwards during what is often referred to as a pre-monsoon or monsoon in Karnataka. These clouds can create an almost frightfully deep combination of dark and inky images when the light of the sun passes through them from behind.
However, beyond the ordinary science of these clouds, what left a lasting impression was the emotion felt by many looking at them from the airport. The airport – normally a place associated with organization and chaos – became a place of reflection.
An Eternal Bond
Kalidasa teaches us that the clouds of the heavens can convey longing and memories and hope even when far away from us. People traveling to distant places may have seen this cloud above the airport as a companion – albeit a silent one. The cloud also may have been seen by people arriving – as an indication that they were home.
In many ways, the black cloud was both ordinary and extraordinary. This was a weather event, and the interpretation of this event transformed it into poetry. Like the cloud that left its mark in Meghdoot, this black cloud will eventually go away, but it left behind many feelings and memories well beyond those of a stormy day.
