Reminiscing the rainy days of my childhood

Gurgaon
30 Jun 2009

At last... it rained in Gurgaon. If you would call drizzling as 'heavy rains' then the weather man was right. It rained heavily!

Heavy rains...! "When was the last time I was drenched completely in a rain?"
Not the sprinkle of water on the neatly pressed Arrow shirt while going to office. I am talking about getting drenched to the skin and realizing that there is nothing you could do about it!

As far as I can remember it was in 2007 during the Ratangad Trek in Maharashtra. I was trekking in the rains for two whole days! Then just a week later during the Valley of flowers Trek in Uttranchal! Before that.... during my days in Bombay (2001-2003). Bombay Rains is altogether a different story. It starts all of a sudden, rains heavily for sometime and then it stops suddenly as it started. Its just unpredictable! But it's always heavy rains and not like the drizzle here! And then there is this another rain, which I will always remember; the rains during my childhood days in Palakkad, Kerala. And what a rain it was!

The rain starts every year, when the school reopens after the 2 month long summer vacation! And mind you.. it also doesn't just drizzle. It POURS! It rains continuously for hours (sometimes, even for days together!) Each year when you buy new books and bags, there is one more thing in the checklist - Raincoats or Umbrella!

It is always dark and raining outside throughout the day. I can still hear the loud noise of rain drops falling on our roof and asbestos.

The early morning bath in the cold water... getting into the raincoat with the school bag.

Walking to school in the lashing rain or sitting crushed inside the over stuffed auto rickshaw.

Reaching the school with totally wet shoes and socks. Again the dark class room and the smell of wet socks whole day!

The last hour PT period... the football practice in the rain and the ankle deep water in the playing ground! (After a couple of hours Football turns Rugby)

It would be still raining while walking back to home (This time no rain coats / umbrella.. you are already wet!).

The over flowing fields and ponds with tiny fishes. Running to the fields with friends to catch fish with the towel and aquarium net. Whenever we take home our catch in a Horlicks bottle, the grown ups always say 'its tadpole' Silly people!

The wells that are full to the top (you could even take water without using a rope) with their sides fallen in the recent rains.

The ever wet backyard garden where we take our friends or relatives to give a sudden rain by shaking the branch and running away! Oh.. what a fun it was!

The dripping roof, wet floor and the catching vessels... the washed clothes taking days to dry.

Catching the cold and mom's warning not to play in the muddy water. Still running out for the paper boat race and the pirates game (throwing stones on brother's boat!) Rains. rains and more rains!

And this is not just for a day or a week. This continues for almost 2 months and in the end, we really used to wish that the rainy season gets over soon! That was the real RAINY season. The monsoons in Kerala and my childhood as I remember.

Today when it started drizzling here, I decided to re-live my childhood days (at 30 :-). Its a weekend, I will enjoy the rain today" I eagerly went out to get drenched. But the rain gods said.. "go and get drenched in your bathroom!".

I look around. I don't see people running for shelter. They are carrying on with their work as if nothing happened. In half an hour the show is over and the sun is back. "Did you miss me guys...?" I look for the dark clouds and the rains and there is none! The wind has taken them to where there are lots of trees! I am sure Delhi would have got our rains too!

People here should have realized long back that its not the 'shopping malls' they needed the most. They should have thought twice before cutting the trees. They should have grown more trees! Why don't they bring a rule that says: "Every house should have at least one tree!"

Today I see ads about monsoon tourism in magazines and paper. People pay for enjoying the 'rain dance' in resorts and amusement parks! And I am amused... that they are happy paying for something that was really theirs... and their children s'!