BULLETIN OF IMSP - (IMD), Pune

“Ides of March” of 2007 year – an Indian Experience!O.N. DHAR and Shobha NandargiIITM, Pune-411 008.Shakespeare in his famous drama ‘Julius Caesar’ has immortalized the15th of March as“Ides of March”. Caesar, the great emperor of Rome, was warned by sooth-Sayers andeven by his own life that 15 th of March was not auspicious day for the Caesar and heshould not move out of his palace. Being a brave soldier and conqueror, he did notbother about their warnings and replied them in the following words:-‘Cowards die many times before their deaths,The Valiant never taste of death but once,Of all the wonders that I have seen,It seems me most strange that men should fear,Seeing death a necessary end will come when it will come.’Actually Caesar was killed by his own Roman cabinet colleagues, which included thehonorable Brutus, whom he considered most honest and trusted friend, on 15 Marchduring a cabinet meeting.As is well known, meteorologically, the month of March is quite important as on23 rd March Sun crosses the Equator from the south to the north and on this date, night andday are of equal length. On this day, World Meteorological Organization (WMO),Geneva, celebrates its foundation day at its affiliated Met. Organizations all over theworld! A British poet has said that March wind and April showers bring forth the Mayflowers!This year (2007) “Ides of March” has been quite distressing in India too! Acouple of days before 15 March, the entire northwest and northern India were affected byunseasoned snow and rainstorm which baffled even the weather man by their severity!Dozens of people were killed and standing crops were destroyed over a wide area ofnorthwest India. As if this was not enough, on 14 March, there was unprovoked firing oninnocent farmers at Nandigram in West Bengal, which killed 14 poor farmers and injuredscores of them! This incident resulted in adjournment of both Houses of Parliament inNew Delhi without transacting any business on 15 March in memory of the dead!What happed actually on 15 March, 2007 was more gruesome! 55 policemencamping in the Chhatisgarh State were massacred by Naxalite terrorists in the early hoursof dawn when they were fast a sleep! As if this was not enough, during the day time of15 March, some dozens of pool coal miners working in a neighboring coal mine gottrapped in the flooded coal mine and met their watery grave under tragic circumstances!We may not believe in the concept of some days are auspicious and some areotherwise but when actually happened on 15 th March, 2007 in this country, defied allrational explanation and at the same time it is hard to pass it as a simple coincidence! Wefeel that there is some truth in the famous saying of “Beware the Ides of March”!6