‘Rain god’ wants to stay out of limelight post retirement!

Chennai: Celebrity meteorologist S.R. Ramanan was the biggest newsmaker of the year and also was in the eye of the storm when Chembarambakkam flood gates were opened following unprecedented ‘once in a century’ downpour, literally drowning Chennai.

After all the hectic weeks of work, the ‘Rain God’ as he is often referred to is spending quite time with ‘devastating’ northeast monsoon nearly coming to close. In a freewheeling chat with DC, Mr Ramanan, who is due for retirement on March 31 as the director of Area Cyclone Warning Centre, says he wanted to take a very long break to recoup, rejuvenate and importantly stay away from media limelight (laughs).

“It’s been a fascinating journey and cherished every moment I spend with the meteorological department that spans over three decades. Lot has changed in the course of time from technological advancement to people’s perception towards our forecast. Though people see me in the TV channels forecasting, it has always been the team work”, he said with a sense of satisfaction.

Mr Ramanan has another reason to smile and will be going holding head up high with government promoting him from scientist ‘E’ to scientist ‘F’. Mr. Ramanan says he will continue to be associated with student fraternity, which bestowed him the celebrity status. “I will continue delivering lectures in schools and colleges through which I can share the knowledge. I don’t have any other thoughts at the moment. I want to spend with the family”. There are fan pages on social media, a dedicated Wikipedia page, memes are created on him and WhatsApp videos go viral during every monsoon. His colleagues said they have plans for a grand farewell and wished that he continue his association with RMC in some honorary position.

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