Monsoon joy

Monsoon joy

Though it comes with a host of maladies, the rainy season rejuvenates all living things alike.

This monsoon season gave Delhi a Lagaan moment. The clouds hovered above for a while. People celebrated in anticipation but then the clouds dissipated without a single drop. The citizens cursed the IMD which had claimed that the monsoon would arrive two weeks early. It arrived two weeks later. The Met department is doing all it can to convince us that its weather model is good, though it is one of the most delayed monsoons in two decades. It doesn’t matter much for Delhi whether it rains or not since the city has hardly any agricultural land to call its own. People have enough water for their plants and other needs. But rain is an emotional thing, especially after a hot summer. Sipping tea and enjoying pakodas as rain lashes your neighbourhood is what every Delhiite looks forward to every monsoon. The less fortunate, of course, pray for it to stop lest their shanties are washed away. Interestingly, the season comes with problems of its own. It brings a host of diseases such as dengue, chikungunya, malaria and typhoid. The waterlogging makes Delhi look like Venice, though it’s a degenerated version. The traffic goes haywire, roads cave in, trees fell down; yet we love our monsoon.

Monsoon is the mating season in the animal kingdom. Though we humans have stretched it to the full year, yet there is something emotional and romantic about it. Monsoon rains fill every heart with a longing and desire. Careers have been built on rain songs in the film industry. The filmmakers have exploited rain to the hilt. It is sensuous, seductive and engrossing to watch on the big screen. What is Rajesh Khanna without ‘Roop tera mastana’? Or the classic appeal of ‘Pyar hua ikraar hua’ that had Raj Kapoor at his best, holding an inverted umbrella. Monsoon might have been late this year but it has arrived. We would have three wet months until it finally recedes in September. These months would give you a lot of things to cheer and crib about. The electricity cuts would be rampant but the cool breeze would lighten up your mood. You would get stuck in traffic often but the air quality would improve. Social media would be inundated with grievances but nothing would change. We have learnt to live like that. We have learnt to take things as they come, with the rain or without it!