 |
| Photo Source |
So it's been raining since a day here, where the rains are just as unpredictable as the winter weather. It basically rains anytime any day in Chicago - be it Fall, Summer, Spring, or Winter. However, the rains are pretty much for namesake and last for really short stretches of time (usually not more than 30 minutes). Also, I always find the rains here are not 'wet enough', if that makes any sense. In either case, these cannot hold a candle to the rains that we get in Bombay. If you have ever witnessed monsoon in Bombay, then you know exactly what I'm talking about :-)
Being born and raised in Bombay, monsoon is undoubtedly my favorite season of the year! For me, Bombay seems to transform into another city during the rains. Just thinking about it gets me all nostalgic. So I decided to pen down (or type down in this case :p), my most favorite things and most cherished memories about the Bombay rains. So here's my list of things that I absolutely adore about the monsoon in Bombay -
1. The broody gloomy look that the sky adorns right before it starts to rain. Sort of like a warning in advance that 'Hey I'm coming - either embrace me or stay out of my way'
2. The smell of the soil right when it starts to rain :-)
3. The way the leaves, the trees, and everything around seems to bathe in the rain water. Almost as though they have waited for just this moment to wash away their broodings.
4. The sound of the rain pattering on the rooftops. For me, this is the most magical sound - the best kind of music, if there ever was one!
5. Having a hot cup of coffee or tea along with hot pakodas or something similar :p
6. Reading a good book to the sound of the rains in the background
7. I absolutely love the fact that the Bombay rains are not a preview. In other words, if it rains it pours! and that too for a pretty long time
8. Sitting at a café watching the rain pour outside or going for walks right after it has rained
9. I love, love, love the way the sea looks during the rains, absolutely menacing yet magnificent!
10. And finally, I love the way the city simmers down after the rains. Sort of like it's been refreshed, recharged, washed off it's sins if any, and ready to take on the world again
If there was one thing that I missed the most about Bombay, it would, without a doubt, be the monsoons. That time of the year when everything seems pure and new and refreshed and energized. The only time of the year when Bombay seems to relax in the cool air after an especially scorching summer. The time of the year I crave for even today and that I would go back to in a heartbeat. So here's to the Bombay rains, keep it pouring!
