For those whose livelihoods are intertwined with water, the monsoon is both desired and cursed

Drawing on their field research in West Bengal, Lexi Aisbitt and Humaira Chowdhury offer an insight into the mixed blessing that is the monsoon for people with precarious livelihoods in eastern India. While the rains offer relief from the summer heat, nourishment to crops and a boost to water levels in the rivers and ponds used by fishermen, unpredictable climate patterns can also have a devastating impact.