The monsoons have started...and as the song goes, "Raindrops keep fallin' on my head...". The weather's become fantastic, it ain't hot anymore and everything's right with the world again!!! Okay, maybe that's taking it a bit too far considering global warming n all...but still...everything does feel right...what with the water drops gently dripping from the leaves, birds chirping, frogs croaking(I personally hate frogs n all reptiles but they do herald the coming of the rains!) and greenery all around...Sigh...It's a field day for the lovers out there for whom this season is the epitome of romance!!!
It's a perfect time to get out with your family or friends or both and go picnicking close by...Entire weekends can be spent enjoying yourself by getting wet in the rain, stuffing yourself with garma-garam chai and kanda bhajji from the numerous tapris or dhabas n of course the quintessential bhutta!!! Now this is the best thing about the monsoons...You get to eat loads of bhutta or corn which the thelewalla cooks slowly over coal n once it's done, the masala n chutney that's applied over it makes it absolutely lip smackin'!!! You can even enjoy the rains sitting at home...Just make yourself a cup of hot tea or coffee, sit in the balcony or at the window n watch the rains making everything wet n green around you...
But every good thing has its side effects too!!! Take for instance, the puddles formed during the rainy season...They are numerous, they are yucky, they are the breeding grounds of mosquitoes n if they are in the middle of a road then god save you!!! Because you never know what kind of a pothole they are hiding...Now potholes are another pain...They are formed because of the rains n of course because the quality of roads in India is poor as such...So, come the monsoons n potholes become a common sight on all Indian roads...Most of the accidents that happen are due to these hell holes as people are either trying to avoid them n crashing into someone or something coming from the opposite direction or they are going straight into them n finding themselves sprawled on the road the next moment!!! This is of course the case mostly with two-wheelers n cyclists...Poor things have to contend with getting wet as well as making sure they don't end up in the hospital...Another thing that I don't like about the monsoons is that there is no sunshine and the sky is a dreary grey...It's nice not to have the sun beating on your back for sometime...But during the rains it never comes out and the beautiful blue of the sky is not visible for days on end...It depresses me quite a lot and during such days I'm dull, lethargic and sleepy...I hate getting out of bed or even getting out of the house and everything about the rains makes me angry...The incessant dripping, the water that gets in between your sandals and your feet when you're walking outside, the icky puddles, the mud...I just wish on such days that the rains get over and done with as quickly as possible!!!
But all said and done...The monsoons are a harbinger of life itself...Every living thing flourishes under its benevolent shower and even human beings can't help but rejoice when it starts raining...No wonder we have so many songs which talk of the rain with such fondness and euphoria...
6 comments:
A nicely worded piece. I second your opinion that monsoon indeed brings us a much needed respite from the heat & dust.
As for me, coming from the big B of cities (Bombay), the rains bring us one additional benefit.
No brownie points if you have guessed it right. IT IS THE RAIN HOLIDAY !!!!.
Cheers
Rajagopal Iyer
Hey a very nice piece of writing....
u seem to write too good....
make it more frequent so that we get a peep into more of your thoughts.
A nice little wordwheel on the rains in India, bringing out the pros as well as cons of the showers. I personally love the season, though life doesn't afford the luxury of enjoying them these days.... In any case, a feel-good piece.
The first thing I remembered was the marathi song from an album called 'Gaarva' I like that album a lot, its all about the monsoon and its beauty.
I heard it twice as I was reading the writeup.
As I am a bit romantic type I enjoy the poetic aspect of the rain.
Nice write up, keep up the good writing.
Cheers,
Minoti
PS: Here's a poem from the album 'Gaarva'by Milind Ingle.
पुन्हा ढग दाटून येतात, पुन्हा आठवणी जाग्या होतात
तिचे माझे सारेच पावसाळे, माझ्या मनात भिजून जातात
पुन्हा पाऊस ओला ओला, पुन्हा पाऊस बांधून झूला
तिच्याकडले उरले झोके, परत करतो माझे मला
पुन्हा पाऊस खूप ऐकतो, पुन्हा पाऊस खूप बोलतो
त्याच्या माझ्या गप्पांमधले तिचे थेंब अलगद झेलतो
पुन्हा पावसाला सांगतो मी, पुन्हा पावसाशी बोलतो मी
माझे तिचे आठवण थेंब, पुन्हा पावसालाच मागतो मी
The question is -- "Do you like getting wet and dirty in the rain?" Because I've about had it with people saying, "Oh, I love the monsoons. Everything's so nice. You can just sit and have a cup of tea and watch the rain fall outside!"
That's like saying, "Oh, I love summer! Just so long as I'm in my air-conditioned office, you know!"
arnold: I personally am not too fond of the monsoons..I hate the mud n despise getting wet in the rain..But I'm more of a moderate person and the monsoons are a good thing in moderation..But that's about it!!! If you read my post carefully enough you'll know what I'm talking about here..
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