I feel the raindrops pitter pattering on my helmet as I negotiate the short distance to my store.
It’s been a wet wet week here and that makes travelling on a two-wheeler a bit of a trial. However, I am warm and dry inside my raincoat and I feel strangely happy (Is it those hormones again, I wonder). The visor of my helmet covers half my face, shielding my eyes from the shower. I feel raindrops on my mouth and lips and it’s a good feeling.
I am reminded of another wet day far far back in time.
It is pouring rain. We have missed the school bus and my father, annoyed and upset, is dropping us to school – my sister and I. We sit squished together on the back-seat of his two-wheeler, our pleated skirts ironed to perfection the night before, are crushed beyond repair.
We’re dressed in almost identical plastic raincoats, dutifully covering our heads with the raincoat caps (which, my young self finds entirely unbecoming but doesn’t think of voicing out the thought). Water trickles down from the opening at our necks, making us shiver.
But I’m happy.
Nothing bothers me – not my father’s annoyance, not the crushed uniform, not the unattractive raincoat, not even the water trickling down my neck.
Other vehicles whizz past, splashing water, making me gasp and laugh out in surprise.
We spot another girl in the sky blue of our school uniform but, Hey! She’s going the other way! And then we spot another and another. ‘School’s closed. It’s a rainy day holiday‘, one of them hollers as she whizzes past.
And in that moment a perfect morning becomes a hundred times more perfect, if that’s possible.
My father, even more annoyed at the wasted effort, turns back the scooter and we make our way home looking forward to a lazy day spent reading (Georgette Heyer, maybe) and listening to music (Rafi singing for Shammi Kapoor). Unless of course we are ambushed and (force) recruited by our mother for one of her cleaning drives!
I never gave it much thought, but I do like the rains. Oh I know they come with a lot of mess. But then every season comes with its own mess.
This is a bit of a segue but I cannot write about my childhood monsoon and not talk about my young self’s fascination with Duckback raincoats.
Way back in the 80s, Duckback had these gorgeous raincoats. Made of some kind of rubber/plastic, they came with tiny delicate flower prints on the outside and plain bright colours inside – yellow, green, red, blue, orange. How I coveted them!
My rather simple flowery translucent one seemed terribly drab and childish. Much later, as an adult, I tried to find a Duckback and there are many pretty ones out there, but I never did find ‘the one’.
Last year finally, I made my peace when I stumbled across the perfect raincoat. It’s the plainest, most inexpensive thing one can imagine but it doesn’t allow a single drop of rain to sneak in.
Perhaps, I have learnt to value utility over looks.
And I’ve learnt to enjoy the monsoon. Despite the muddy roads, the squelching shoes and the crazy frizzy hair, rain makes me happy.
Like I said in my last post, happiness (or sadness) isn’t in the rain or the sun, it’s an inside job.
If you haven’t come around to appreciating the monsoon, here’s a song that will certainly make you smile. Maybe, it will also get you to change your mind.
So tell me which is your favourite season? Or are you like me and can’t quite make up your mind? Do you have a favourite monsoon memory? Share? Please?
PS: Remind me to revisit this post next time I have to get somewhere and cannot find an Uber because of the rain. For now, I am going to enjoy the gorgeous weather.
PS2: Some of this appreciation might stem from the daily conversations with my sister who is braving the sweltering heat and humidity up North. And No! I wouldn’t write a whole blog post simply to make her jealous.
Oh those plastic raincoats!! Nostalgia mode on. They used to have this faint plastic smell on them combined with the smell of hardly being used. We used to walk to school as it was nearby and what a mess it was trying to escape the puddles to keep our socks and shoes dry and clean!
I have mixed feelings about rain. I love it when I’m all cozy and cuddled up at home and watching the rain from my balcony with a book and a cup of green tea. Stepping out during rain, I hate! Especially with the current situation in Bangalore where one rain can bring the whole city to a halt.
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Yes true, that’s there. Our cities, their roads are not equipped to handle rain, which takes all the pleasure away from it. Oh and I do remember that raincoat smell.
I can feel the rejoice you would have felt from almost reaching the school and coming to know the school is closed for rainy day. You must have been a really happy child to enjoy the ride for the water splashes despite the other discomforts. I remember Duckback rain coats. My brother and I had one each to go to school. During my early school years, I lived in Assam. It rained a lot there and never ever there was declared a rainy day. My school was atop a hill.
I like the rains. And, I also like the summer and winter. But, then I live in Bangalore so all weathers are fine. I am grateful that I do not live in my hometown Delhi because in that case, I would not have been in a situation to love all kinds of weather. Though it rains a lot in Bangalore, I sometimes miss the rain storms of Preston – sitting by the window sill watching the rain splatter on the window panes and sipping tea. While this is the romantic part, the hard part was walking to the school every morning and afternoon to drop off and pick up the boy respectively. The rain would percolate even the densest rain jackets leaving us shivering in the cold. As depressed I was then, I never complained about the rain. Grey, gloomy low skies yes but not the rains. I had forgotten all the rain stories of my life. Thanks to your wonderful stories and writing, I got a chance to recall my own stories.
First up – you’re one lucky girl to have had the raincoat of my dreams. And yet not so lucky if you never got a rainy day holiday.
I am always conflicted when I have to think about my favourite season. Like Bangalore, here in Pune we too are safe from extremes but each weather brings with it some good things, right? To be honest that’s how I began this post on how every weather has a good and a bad but then it was so beautifully cloudy outside and I remembered that day of no-school and ended up writing just about the rains.
North is enjoying the rains too nowadays:). Tulika, love your recollection of your childhood and it had me smiling. I remembered my childhood in Mumbai and the rainy days, playing with friends and my siblings, getting scolded by my mom. My dad was super cool and he encouraged us to step out in the rains. Nostalgia is beautiful but tinged with a hint of sorrow for me. Thanks for your lovely post.
That’s exactly how moms and dads should be – balancing each other. I hope in time you are able to remember the good bits without the sadness.
I love the rains… it stirs so many emotions in me. Driving during rain is even more beautiful . Although squeezed in a scooter might be a whole different experience. I remember one such ride with my dad and sister but our school wasn’t closed. And we didn’t have raincoats. So that wasn’t too much fun.
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Oh I get this – all drenched and having to sit through school. Yeah, not so nice.
I was not too fond of those raincoats when I was a kid. It felt weird and childish. But now I wouldn’t mind a raincoat to keep me dry. Well, I don’t need a raincoat here in Arizona because it hardly rains.
It was so nice to read your rainy post, Tulika. I love rain. Growing up in Kerala we enjoyed tonnes of rain every year. It was messy. And when we did get an unexpected off day from school due to rain it was divine.
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It’s a pity you don’t get much rain. You should try to plan your India visits so you get to see some of the monsoon. The children will love it for sure.
I used to love getting drenched in the rain till a couple of decades back. I remember my sis in law and I going for a stroll in the lashing rains the year I got married. The way we laughed like little girls. She reminds me of that day every time it rains like that. I do like the rain, but not if I have to step out for some work. I get that icky feeling thinking of wet sandals and wet feet with stuff sticking to my feet and the muck all around. I enjoy the rains from the comforts of the indoors. I also like how dark it gets when the grey clouds gather above for weeks on end like it has been these past 10-15 days.
I loved reading your post, Tulika, and I found a lovely idea here to write about the rain in my next post! God knows I need all the help I can get in writing regularly, despite the endless prompts available online and all around me! ;P
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I get that bit about how messy rains can become. And of course there were days when I disliked it, when I happened to be wearing my good shoes or when I had a meeting and turned up late and messy. Mercifully, those days are in the past. I toll love it when it gets dark and cloudy in the middle of the day.
Glad if my post helped you get your thoughts going. Your posts have helped me more than once so it’s just a give and take :-).