The storm is over. It stopped raining and blowing at about 9:00 am. The sun came out around noon. And even though there were distant clouds, it did not rain again. Just as well. I think we've had enough rain to last us a while -- all of Sunday night, all of Monday and all of Monday night. This morning too it was blowing so hard and raining so hard that the children could not make it to school. Only Kartik and Babuni showed up. Naturally, we had to declare it a holiday.

Even though the weather was stormy and at time we got very severe gusts of wind, there was no damage to life and property. The tin roof of my room rattled so hard that at times I thought it might be blown away. Fortunately, there was no damage to the project nor did I hear of any damage in the villages around. But Mitali was quite anxious about her family in Kolkata. Fortunately, they were all safe though the cyclone did create havoc in that city. More than 500 trees were uprooted, 7 people died and of course many shacks and roadside shops were demolished. The damage to places near the sea suffered a lot more it seems over 24000 people have been rendered homeless. We were quite apprehensive when we heard that the cyclone (named Aila) was moving towards Jharkhand. But fortunately, the cyclone lost its force the further inland it moved.

Once the rain stopped, Bhola and Nilambar toured the project to see if there were any damages. All the rooms were fine. Only my room leaks! We have lost all our mangoes. Fortunately, not the trees. Bhola and Nilambar trimmed a few of the trees growing on the hill -- fewer leaves and less chances of them toppling over. I wonder if the Banyan Tree will topple over in a storm? Yesterday a few of them got uprooted in Kolkata. I used to think they were too big to uproot. But now I am wondering if it's that sensible to be living under one!

Since the rain has made the soil soft, Bansi and Khagen did some earth work around the well. All the earth that came out when the when was being dug has to be removed. We'll put it on the path between the trees. Some of it will of course be spread around the well itself.

I'm glad the sun is up. At least the solar panel will now charge the battery. And I'm also glad it will remain somewhat cool for the next few days. It was quite cold this morning. But it's been pleasant all day despite the sun. If only it would rain more regularly and in moderation!