New Delhi, June 05: The swathe of angry orange over the subcontinent in weather maps is perhaps the most apt description of the annual horror that scorches the plains of India every summer and has already killed about 1,100 people this season.
As the sun beats down mercilessly, lakes and water sources dry up, people trudge for miles to get drinking water and power crises brings life to a halt. Scanty rainfall compounds the desperate situation. And that is the reality of summer through the length and breadth of this vast country with even northern hill states like Himachal Pradesh suffering from a heat wave.
Just consider the statistics. Of the 1,100 odd reported deaths so far, most have occurred in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh where temperatures were 9 to 10 degrees above normal. About 50 people died all over the country in a single day Tuesday. Of them, 45 died in Andhra Pradesh alone.

In neighbouring Orissa, the sizzling summer is said to have killed 117 people. The mercury in Titilagarh town hit 48.8 degrees Celsius.
Other parts of the country are also reeling under the cruel heat. Hissar town in Haryana reported a high of 47.5 degrees; Nagpur in Maharashtra recorded 47.2 degrees; Chennai in Tamil Nadu documented the hottest day in 90 years; and even Sundernagar in Himachal Pradesh saw a high of 40.9 degrees.



But sometimes, just sometimes, prayers are answered. As they were Tuesday when rainfall was reported from parts of southern Karnataka. An excited Chief Minister S.M. Krishna said people should "continue to pray for everything including rain".



For the rest, however, the situation stays the same with little respite in sight. Thiruvananthapuram Meteorological Director M.D. Ramachandran said the monsoon would be at least a week late in Kerala, and therefore in the rest of the country.



But beyond the figures and the bland statistics are the millions who sweat, slog and barely survive the harsh summer months.



Suna Devi from Kalahandi district in Orissa, for instance, walked four kilometres to the nearest well for her daily supply of water. Now, she can't even do that because the well has dried up.



Millions of others share the same fate and are left with no option but to take to the streets. Patna, Bihar's capital city, saw its citizens protest inadequate water supply by blockading roads.



Soaring temperatures in Agra, the city of Taj Mahal, have already killed four people. And even the fabulous white mausoleum is not inspiring enough to get the few foreign tourists out of their hotels. They are content to view the Taj from the air-conditioned comfort of their rooms.



With the sizzling temperatures and the scarcity of potable water come attendant medical problems like cholera and diarrhoea, which are potentially life- threatening.



Of course, there are those who make all their money while the sun shines. Like the potters in Orissa who suddenly find themselves busy at work with the demand for earthen pots going up.



Or for executives in soft drink multinationals, for whom this is the busiest time of the year when they earn their bonuses. Ditto for the many small time kiosk owners making a fast buck selling mineral water, drinks and other homemade panaceas like lassi and sherbets.



The heat and dust of the proverbial Indian summer can also be fodder for the mind!



Like for Prasanta Panigrahi, an engineer in Orissa, who has developed a cap with a built-in fan powered by a solar plate fitted on top. "There is heavy demand but it is just in the trial phase," said Panigrahi.



Here's hoping, on behalf of all those braving the sizzling sun and hot winds, that Panigrahi's little invention is approved for marketing soon - very soon.