It Rained Today

Delhi and Bangalore. Bangalore and Delhi. Two places that I have now come to call home. A lot of people would be surprised to find me accepting a second home in Bangalore so soon. For them, the city is much too hostile to North Indians. For me, this is the city where it rains a lot.

I remember my early months here, July, August, September. I used to promise myself that I would carry an umbrella whenever I would step out of the hostel. Downpours are quite unpredictable. Yes, I would forget more often than thought. But really, I am not complaining. There is nothing so natural that fills me with more joy (alright, maybe the ocean does. Am I a person with clichéd choices?) than heavy raindrops, or even light ones, on my head and dripping from my nose, with mud on my legs and soiled clothes on my body.

As a kid, I used to leave a bowl out in my veranda to fill with hailstones during a hailstorm. That would then serve as a dinner-time meal or something. Unhealthy, I heard someone say? Maybe. But so was the sand that I used to eat as a kid. Never got me ill. Why should this? It was all for the greater purpose of juvenile joy, unadulterated fun. I don’t know how apt the term unadulterated is here, though. But hey! That was hail, condensed out of evaporated water, which is devoid of all bacteria and dirt. No question of being unhealthy (my teacher later explained to me the concept of acid rain in urban dwellings. Delhi. Hmph.).

Now? Now I am a lot more conscious of getting wet in the rain. It’s been a long time since I did. Even before, for me it was never ‘dancing in the rain’, but just walking, standing, sitting, running sometimes, in the rain. I would spread my arms out like an eagle, tilt my head towards the sky, close my eyes, and just stand, with a quaint smile on my lips.

It rained today, and that’s what I did. I went to the terrace of my hostel building, spread my arms out like an eagle, tilted my head towards the sky, closed my eyes, and just stood... with a quaint smile on my lips.