Monsoon Season

Saturday 06/21/2014

Today we woke up to rain. Late June through August is the peak of the monsoon season all over India. Apparently the rain was considered “a light drizzle” but compared to my desert experiences in Bend and Claremont it was torrential. The huge upside of the rain is that it dramatically cools off the outside. And what a relief it is.

Due to the rain, we stayed inside for most of the day, reading and relaxing with the other Fathers. In the afternoon, Uncle Jack showed us the garden that is kept on the grounds and the various ingenious devices they use. He first showed us their “Bio-gas” tank which is basically just a large composting bin that is airtight, with a tube coming out of the top. Compost is added to the bin, and as it is broken down, methane gas is released and lightly pressurizes the vessel. The gas can then be extracted from the top and used to cook food with. I am not sure about the practicality of such a device on a small scale but it would be interesting to try to make a small one at home and see how much gas it produces. The leftover material from the container is used to fertilize the garden.

The garden behind St. Xaviers

The bio-fuel producer

We then took a walk around the block to an old Granary that was built by the British in 1786 to prevent famines. The large dome-like structure has two helical staircases that wrap around the dome, opposite one another. For a small fee you can go into the pleasant grounds surrounding the granary and take a stroll to the top to get an excellent view of Patna.

 At the granary and other places that we would walk, the people are always extremely interested in where we are from. On the way down from the granary a younger kid fell into step with me an eventually got up the courage to ask “which country?”. Americans apparently don't visit Patna very often.