So its one of those lazy evenings when for a change I am home early with nothing much to do. Cant go out for a walk. Though I love walking and getting wet in the rain, walking through knee deep slush and mud is not exactly my idea of a good pastime. I cant read a book. Coz I have already read all the books that I have and I cant go out and buy some because
a) it is raining and
b) it is the 26th of the month and my bank balance is errr in double digits.
Not really enough to buy a book. I cant watch TV because there IS no TV to watch. I cant mail a friend of mine overseas whom I have been grossly ignoring for a week now lamely blaming work and other things because her mail is languishing in my personal folders in my system in office to which I have no access from home. Sorry Anu.
So right now I am sitting here listening to the steady “chh chh chh chhh chhh” of the rain outside my window and it reminds me of all the wonderful rains that I have experienced in the 23 years of my existence.
-- The rainy seasons in Surat from 1992-1997 with Preethi and my cousins Rishu and Prashu when we would continuously watch Tom and Jerry from 2 in the afternoon to 8 in the night and still not get tired..
-- Playing dark room.
-- Cutting the little earthworms in the balcony with the kitchen knife and watching in wonder as the two ends of the earthworm wiggled in two different directions while it poured outside and produced more earthworms for us to cut and experiment
-- Making mud pies and small plates and spoons of mud and playing house house (Sheeeeeesh!! How much I loved being a wife and mother then!! :D)
-- Learning to ride a bicycle on my own in the parking area and cycling in the narrow area between two cars so that even if I lost balance I wouldn’t fall down but would fall on one of the cars while it rained mercilessly never letting me practice my bike riding on the roads.
-- Purposely wading through ankle deep, knee deep water and wetting my shoes and socks just so that I could hear the pleasant “squelch squelch” of my shoes whenever I walked and get scolded by amma.
-- Going to bed at night listening to the howling of the wind and the “crick crick” of crickets.
-- Snuggling up under a quilt and close to paati while she told us stories, happy to be safe and warm at home while it was dark and cold outside.
-- The rains in Jamnagar which always brought with them cyclones. Cyclones became such a run off the mill thing for us that every rains we would go “Cyclone a?? seri seri” and go on with our work.
-- Driving in our first car – a blue color Maruti 800 in the rains watching in wonder as dad put on the car viper which magically devoured all the little drops which formed on the windscreen.
--The rains in Bombay which are MERCILESS and go about ravaging the entire city with a clinical precision not caring two hoots about the people who suffered. The impudence and audacity of the Bombay rains has always mesmerized me.
-- The rains in Chennai – the friendly rains as I call them. Always raining throughout the night, letting us enjoy the pleasant weather during the day.
-- The rains when I was in class 12th and paati would invariably make bhajji or bonda every time it rained. Snuggling to a god book with a cuppa tea in one hand, bajji in the other, listening to the rains – Ah!!! Bliss!!
-- The rains during my fifth semester in college when Anna University postponed the exams because of heavy rains and I sat and cried in the common room in our hostel because my trip home which I had been looking forward to had been postponed indefinitely and as if to rub salt on my wounds it didn’t rain at all the whole day.
-- My friends trying to cheer me up during that time and even today I remember distinctly. I was crying and one friend said “They have postponed the exams man. Lets not waste this holiday, lets go to Mayajaal and watch Harry Potter 3. Because of the rains we will get tickets easily and it’s a weekday too”. And off we went in that ominous looking weather to watch a movie and cheer “me” up!!
-- Now I feel glad they postponed the exams. One of the BESTEST times of my life when I made some of my closest friends, had all night talk-athon and chat-athon sessions in the rains. Getting wet every time it rained.
-- The rains in Manali during final year tour when we walked on the road, a light drizzle beating down on our faces, a cup of hot tea in hand, rushing to the nearest dhaba to have some aloo ka parantha!! Lovely!! :)
-- The sudden rains in Skandagiri which took us by surprise and lashed out at us with all their fury leaving us shivering and singing in our tents throughout the night
-- And finally the rains now which help me think of all the wonderful rains I have seen!!
Ah!! The rains. Its amazing what the rain does to me. I love the rains!! :)
