"Pehli pehli baarishh ki cheetey" ......... Rains are here again & with a Big bang! This is my second session of the famous Mumbai rains.... and frankly speaking I am excited but also a little apprehensive.

I feel Rainy season is one of the most nostalgic seasons of all. I am sure each and every person has some or the other memories connected to it. Earlier for me, the begining of rains was a little depressing, because it meant the start of the academic year. It meant the begining of daily routine of going to school, studies, exams & well..... results. The sudden metamorphosis from the leisure days of vacations to the home-work days was too onerous & torcherous to bear. School and rains have a very deep rooted connection. I remember that every year in school till higher secondary, we had an essay on "A rainy day" which became more innovative into "The Floods" as we went to higher classes. I always felt it was a symbol of unwanted filth, rotten smells & diseases.

But with the passing years I couldn't stop myself from changing my outlook towards this "Indra ka vardaan". I blame it to my romantic streak. It unfolds some memories which make my heart flip even today. Waiting to get a glimpse of my crush coming to college with his wet looks, facing a heavy downpour to go to tuitions just because its the last day I can see him, writing puppy love poems for my lost love with my heart crying with the same speed as the cloud burst outside are some of my deeply etched memories. My lucky day was when the school/ college was closed
due to heavy rains & I was in my cozy room with a cup of hot coffee in one hand & a M & B novel in the other. Hmmmmmmmm........... the tantalising smell of the strong beverage is still as fresh !

From agriculture to bolly-culture, it marks the begining of new avenues :) Be it the new crops or new romantic ventures, rains add the necessary fuel to it. Be it Indians or red Indians,Odes, songs, stories are written to honour this season.

That day when it rained for the first time this year,I was just closing down for the day. It was lightening & thundering like hell. I felt "today's God's day to play pranks on us." The rumbling of clouds is something which sends shivers down my spine. Then my colleague & friend gave me a simple logic. If u hear the rumble it means the worst is already over coz the lightening has already struck(Light travels faster than sound). But this very basic Physics could not wipe out my fears. We both struggled to get to her parked car & the moment we sat we heard the loudest ever thunder. I felt the windows of the car rattle.Somehow my courageous friend managed to drive through the rains & we reached her house. Till then atleast the lightening had stopped. We got down & some crazy but beautiful idea struck us. "Lets get wet" we both said. We threw our bags, footwear & that's exactly what we did. Like school girls we giggled as the shower fell on us. We splashed in the puddles and got all the more dirty. For a moment which seemed like eternity, I closed my eyes & stretched my arms to embrace the rain. It felt as if all my anxieties, worries, unhappiness was getting dissolved and washed away. It took with it some of my tears
too. When i opened my eyes the rain had turned into a drizzle. I smiled & then laughed out loud. I was totally refreshed and felt happiness seep through me. Grinning & with a slight trot in our stride we both went inside to the warm coziness of her house.

I said silently ................Welcome Rains..............