Little puddles are beginning to dot the land for children to splash in, the wells are filling up, and umbrella sellers are smiling. The skies have burst open with monsoon in Kerala.

The southwest monsoon, which is a life-giving force in the lush green state, threw up a surprise Sunday, arriving two days before it had been predicted to come. 

"Now we can have a splash in the rain. It is nice, especially as our classrooms were getting a bit hot. With the rains the temperature will come down," said Abhisek Kumar, a schoolgoer who was waiting at a bus stop in the rain here.

"Besides, I can now flaunt my new raincoat!"

The rains have also brought cheer to those facing a severe water shortage on account of summer.

"I hope that the water shortage we suffered for close to two months will end. Already our wells are beginning to fill up," said Kunjamma, a housewife in Kottayam.

In the past few weeks, several parts of Kerala had become dependant on water supplied by tankers and residents were paying close to Rs.1,000 for every tanker.

People in the Indian Meteorological Department here admit to have been taken by the Sunday arrival of the rain, having predicted that it would set in on or after June 7 as the Arabian sea branch of the southwest monsoon has weakened.

"It is true that we had expected it on or after June 7, but suddenly Sunday morning the Arabian sea branch picked up fast and moved into Kerala," director M.D. Ramachandran told IANS.

"Now that it has set in, we expect that in two days the entire Kerala will experience monsoon rains in full and then it would move northwards."

One group that is beaming at the arrival of the rains is umbrella sellers. Some however wished that the rains had come on their usual time - by June 1.

K.N. Marzook, general secretary of the Kerala Umbrella Manufacturers Association at Kochi, said he was delighted, but wished the rains had not got delayed as it meant a late start to sales.

"Now it is already late and umbrella sellers have lifted just 50 percent of the stock. We are hoping that if the rains intensify and stay strong, people will come back again for more stocks," said Marzook.

While the average Keralite is busy rejoicing the monsoon, public health expert C.R. Soman warned that it could bring diseases in its wake.

"Children particularly will be vulnerable to upper respiratory tract infections. And a bigger threat is a possible outbreak of dengue fever - if the concerned authorities do not take preventive steps," added Soman.