PERHAPS what we are witnessing these days is rain metamorphosis.

In days past we used to sing that beautiful song from the Moluccas, Kalau hujan sore-sore, In evening showers. In days past we used to hum along soft Titek Puspa-style rintik-rintik, hujan rintik-rintik, raindrops falling, falling. In those days, rain was melancholy. Now, whenever the heavens open, we anxiously follow the radio news about the water levels inundating villages and the