India, July 26 -- In Alfred Tennyson's Morte d'Arthur, a wounded and dying King Arthur tells Sir Belvedere, one of his most loyal knights and the only Knight of the Round Table to survive the battle of Camlann, "I am going a long way./ To the island-valley of Avilion;/ Where falls not hail, or rain, or any snow,/ Nor ever wind blows loudly; but it lies/ Deep-meadowed, happy, fair with orchard lawns/ And bowery hollows crowned with summer sea,/Where I will heal me of my grievous wounds."

Clearly, King Aurther did not associate rain -as indeed hail, snow and loud wind - with an idyllic place. Many, this writer is sure, would share his view. Rain can be trying, putting one under house arrest while it pours. And it can pour for a long time. ...