Sunday, June 21, 2009

Rain....

....And so the rains arrive. Here's to 3 months of sludge and grime, wet undies and squelchy socks, hot coffee with pakoras or neat pegs of lovely dark rum. 3 months of irritating, but hopelessly romantic weather....

I had msgd the above text to my friends last June after the first showers of that year. Today, a desperate mumbai got teasingly wet after a maddening summer, and i felt like saying those words all over again.

This season has always been special to me and my bro. There is something about this time that somehow manages to heighten every mood and bring back seemingly forgotten memories. At times, watching the rain from my window, i have moved from exuberance to melancholy in a matter of hours! Men are generally not used to such mood swings....at any time of the month. :-D

After i broke off with my first girlfriend, the loneliness used to hit me hardest during the rains. And then when i fell in love again, these times would be the dreamiest. I have no doubt that the rains bring out the romantic in everyone. It is amazing to see the increased number of couples lined up at marine drive, worli seaface, bandstand, bandra reclamation, etc, taking advantage of these rare oases of privacy and laying the foundations for our continuing population explosion.

The rainy season is at its worst when you have to travel to work in complete formal attire while it is pouring cats and dogs. Its a miserable bunch of people in every office on such days. But the same showers seem wonderful on weekends and on days declared holidays due to flooded train lines! There is lots of amazing stuff to do:
- Playing soccer in ankle deep muck (great fun!)
- Cuddling up with someone special (my dear friend Vaibhav, a compulsive cuddler, is at his prime in these times, says his wife)
- Getting cozy in a warm blanket with a steaming cup of coffee and a juicy novel (i used to do this with my bro when we were kids; purely platonic, i must add)
- Long drinking sessions with close buddies (best times)
- Rainy treks in the Sahyadris
etc etc

I've trekked a lot in the rains, in my slimmer days, to places like Peth, Lohagad, Mahuli, Rajmachi, Peb, Bhimashankar, to name just a few. I remember my first trek like it was yesterday. A few of us had joined the St.Xaviers trekking club on a June weekend for a trek to Mahuli, one of the most gruelling one-day treks possible. I had just finished school and was due to start college in a few days. I had zero experience with girls, and the only skin i'd seen was on cheap x-rated video cassettes where we had to struggle to make out the guys from the gals. And then came Mahuli.

There must have been around 120 people on the trek, half of them females. Most of those were decidedly generous, wearing just shorts and white shirts for a bloody monsoon trek. It is impossible to find words for my emotions at the time when the first rains hit that crowd at 5:30 in the morning. My eyes, deprived from the basic necessities for years, couldn't believe the sight of a sea of glistening bra's and thighs. The rest of the trek went by in a delicious daze, probably quite akin to a cocaine hit. God bless all of those ladies.

Anyways, enough said! I wish all who have bothered to read this far, a great rainy season ahead. I pray you dont have to wade through floating turds or get splashed by a passing rickshaw, on your way to office.

7 comments:

Archana Rao said...

Well when i got to know last evening that it rained in Bombay I was expecting a post on rain from you in the next couple of days.. Knowing your lazy self, i thot youmight take till Wed. But you proved me wrong!! Probably bec the summer was so bad that you were super excited abt the rain!

Rains surely do bring back a lot of memories and good times. Im not sure if any other season does it.

About the amazing stuff to do in the rains.. heheh Vaibhav cuddling to his wife... heheheh i dont think that is rainy season bound!!!

I cant believe you have trekked so much!! Whatever happened and you became the laziest lump ever.

I miss the rains in Bombay, the rain holidays, the wet umbrellas, the bike rides during rains, our numerous trips(not many with you thoh) to lonavala during rains, and so many other things... I think ill continue with a post on my blog abt rains and how i miss them bec I am in the desert!!!!!

Enjoy the rains!!! romantic rains....

Ashish said...

I remember that text message like it was last year. I remember wet undies like it.... err... never mind.

My thoughts echo yours completely, except for the cuddling (why would one want to) and getting cozy with a cup of coffee (unless its Irish).

Enjoyed the description of your trek and other visual adventures. I'm still waiting for mine :)

Enjoy the rains bro, floating turds and all. I'll be at the other side of the shite waiting with a drink.

Vivek Rao said...

Boozy, you should be the last person to complain about not getting adventures of the special kind! May i remind you of a certain 45 minute b*** j** that you got??????? Most Indian males finish the (w)hole act in 1/4th that time and sleep off, leaving their wives to wander of to the kitchen in search of a carrot or a cucumber. Because they are hungry and need a healthy snack, nothing else. :-D

Chan: Vaibhav, bro and I used to go for this annual drive to lonavala in the rains with apna remaining gang of that time. We have done that many times and those trips were always fantastic. You probably dont remember 'cause you used to be so bitchy then. You would take the front seat beside Vaibhav in the Sumo and not talk to anyone during the whole trip. You would just sit and frown at everything and everyone. Vai has done a great job in bringing you to normal...
:-)

Archana Rao said...

i was tempted to write abt the 45 min thingy myself.. but then i wasnt sure if it was the same ashish so i shut up!!!!
hahahhhahhaha ashish... the whole world knows abt ur escapades!!!!

and vivek.. shut up and stop posting the same stuff as comments on two blogs!!! nonsense.... kuch originality hai ki nahin??? but i miss the lonavala trips a lot!!!! i used to like them a lot!!!!

quasi said...

OMG I remember our adventures with the Xavier's crowd, though I only joined one 1 or 2 treks. All those awesome babes. How much I regretted letting my dad talk me out of going to Xavier's for collage.

But the rains are my favourite season. Thunder, lightening - all.

Nice read.

Anonymous said...

Nice, dude! Well done!
SVB

Vivek Rao said...

Q, did you actually start your sentence with OMG??? That was so bloody girly! I thought it would stop at clicking flowers, but....