1903.] C. Little— On two remarkable rain-bards in Bengal 75 



I Lave every confidence that I shall, if all goes well, be able to re- 

 port the completion of the Survey at the next Oriental Congress. 



George A. Grierson. 

 Camberley, 

 30th August, 1902. 



The following papers were read : — 



1. An ancient cave and some ancient stujjas in the District of Gay a. — 

 By Parmeshwau Doyal. Communicated by the Philological Secretary. 



2. On two remarkable rain-bursts in Bengal, and some of the more 

 prominent features of the monsoon season in Northern India in 1902. — By 



C. Little, M.A. 



(Abstract.) 



The paper on two remarkable rain-bursts in Bengal, etc., is divided 

 into three parts. The first contains a few general, and in some cases, 

 explanatory remarks of an introductory character. In the second, 

 all the information available collected chiefly from published reports 

 regarding two of the most extraordinary disturbances in the writer's 

 experience, is given, arranged in tabular form and accompanied by brief 

 remarks. These disturbances, in his opinion, entered India from 

 Central Asia and were, he believes, the direct cause of most important 

 changes in monsoon conditions in Northern and Western India. One of 

 the effects of the disturbances was the heavy bursts of rainfall in Bengal 

 Proper and Assam. The first of these bursts began suddenly and ended 

 as suddenly on the oOth June. The other occurred with equal sudden- 

 ness on the 11th August. The immediate effect of the first general 

 disturbance was the commencement of what is called monsoon weather 

 over the whole of Northern India as far west as the Simla Hills. The 

 effect of the second was, he believes, that extraordinary change which 

 occurred in Western India when on the twelfth stroke of the hour a large 

 part of the Empire was saved from a renewal of devastating drought. 



Iu the third part the writer has attempted to show how these two 

 disturbances divided the past monsoon season into periods, during each of 

 which the line of advance of cyclonic storms from the Bay had a marked 

 peculiarity. It is a matter of common knowledge that in each of these 

 periods there was an exceptional distribution of rainfall, shown by 

 excess in one part and great defect in another. What is suggested is that 

 this abnormal distribution of rainfall, must be due to the same causes as 

 the ecceutric behaviour of the cyclonic storms, generally called recurv- 

 ing j and that it is a matter of first class importance that the problem of 

 the recurving should be investigated and solved. Being a definite 



