Saturday, August 4, 2007

Rain, Rain, Come Again!

Rain, rain, come again...all my friends want to play!

Childhood memories took me to those days when I used to gleefully splash water on all and happily soil my clothes. And when I checked with my friends and colleagues, I got a mixed reaction. For most, rain is fun and will always remain so, for some it has changed with time and for the rest (a very few number) it has always been a misery.

For most of my marathi friends...they still rhyme with the granny song "Ye re ye re pausa, tula deto paisa". Janhavi has been wanting to write on this blog since long...and probably the rains motivated her to write. When I asked her feed on the rains, she poured her heart out, so I am not editing whatever she has to say....read it yourself...

"Playing in the muck (chikhal) ..splashing the rain water on each other, sailing paper boats in the puddles ... picking up earthworms, and tadpoles ... When I think about it now .. I go 'yuckkkkkk', but then .. those were the days .. This would be my rainy season routine...year after year :) And, have you ever walked in the downpour .. try it once .. its awesome. Pick a day when its raining cats n dogs n elephants... If you have an umbrella .. don't open it .. do not wear your jacket ... just keep all your tensions at home and step outside ...and get drenched... the ultimate stress buster! But, if you aren't the adventurous type .. there's something for you as well ... tea! In proper Mumbai language ..its called "mast aadrak maarke" chai. Sit by the window, sipping tea, watching the raindrops play the most beautiful music in the world! If you get kanda bhajji with tea ... its heaven. And if you are a football fan .. try chikhal football ... My best rain memory would be July 16th 2005 ... I had been to Lonavala with my friends .. It was bright n sunny when we reached there ... obviously we were disappointed, but continued the trek nevertheless.. soon it started to get dark .. and then it poured n poured n poured ... it was great ... what more could you ask for ... 6 friends ... pouring rain ... freshly made kanda bhajji, with lasun chatni... and to top it all .. mast cutting! That was just 10 days before the dreadful day - July 26 ... Thankfully I was at home that day ... so didn't have to face the difficulties that my friends n family faced. And as I type this it has started to rain .. so please excuse me .. I've got some important work to do viz sitting at the window .. watching the dogs run around in the rain! "ye re ye re pausa . tula deto paisa" .. what is the world coming to ... you got to bribe the rains too!"

As Janhavi mentions, there is nothing like "kanda bhajji" and "mast adrak maar ke chai" on a nice rainy day. And most wonderful as Pradnya says is "pavsat bindast bheejna" (drenching in the rain without a care for the world)

While most of us like the rains, there are some who feel the misery that it causes problems and spreads diseases. For them, I have Pradnya's words, " Nature has not taught us to block drainage pipes, to put mud in sea and constuct buildings, nor even told us to collect sewage and dirt near house to increase diseases. So in short all that is looking bad and causing harm to us, is all happening just because of the man made destructive ideas which we find comfortable but later causes destruction like flood in Mumbai last year or road blockings in Panjim city due to heavy load of water. Nature will never cause destruction and man will never accept his fault. Well, this will go on...but can never change my feelings about rains!"

Neither can my feelings about rain be changed! The lush greenery adds a new life and makes things brighter and on the other hand dark cloudy day with heavy rains and a cozy blanket to cuddle in is a warm feeling too. In Belgaum, we have hail storms...it rains ice (gara as we call it in marathi) and even my mom still has a craze of running in the rain and eating the ice pebbles...sounds crazy?? Try once and you too would be crazy about it. Running in the rain, trying to search for those small pebble ice and picking it up and popping it in your mouth and savouring the taste of natural ice...I miss it. Most of my friends and colleagues have not experienced one...so I guesss I am lucky!

Kedar had been weak when we was a kid and was not allowed to run around in the rain...and I can guess how envious that is, especially when you see other kids and your own buddies running and wading thru the rain water.

Football is the most obvious game in rains, but we do have cricket fans introducing new versions of the game to suit the rains and I have a strong feeling that the ICC should learn from them.

And when I talk of this, I remember having similar discussions as a child, especially when the schools were called off. Kedar mentions that he used to eagerly wait for the news of the school getting cancelled and then running into the rain to celebrate the good news...well, who didn't??

Today, I still long to go in the rain and dance as if there were no worries in the world. But then again, when I am going to office and it starts pouring, I seek shelter...if a kid splashes water and it lands on my trousers, I get irritated...if the rains pour and the trains go standstill, I blame the government and curse the clouds. Life has changed!

But wait, it is not so bad...it has started raining again and I am not going to office today. I am going out there in the rains to drench myself and relieve those golden moments! See you later!!!

1 comment:

photoblog said...

Spot on ..about the destructive nature of the rains ... Mother Nature never intends to hurt us. The real culprit behind all the rain disasters is the people.. who never think twice before chucking the Lays packet into the drain...
A clear example in front of my eyes is the massive destruction of the mangroves just behind my building! When I was a kid, there was a huge mangrove forest... all thats left now is a small green patch!
We have to remember one thing : AS WE CONTINUE TO SCREW UP THE NATURE, IT'S GONNA COME BACK WITH A VENGEANCE. PAYBACK TIME!