It rained heavily in Bangalore on friday. We were having Ethnic Day celebrations at office terrace, when the menacing thunderous clouds rolled up and it began raining cats & dogs.Heavy pellets splashed on us from the tarpaulin sheet overhead. I was traveling home that night. And in Kerala the monsoon was setting in with all its ferocity .
My growing up years were closely associated with monsoon. It was the season I used to love as a kid, the season which used to irritate me when I grew up, the season that arouses waves of nostalgia when I think of it now. I used to hate it because, I could no longer go out anywhere and had to stay back at home. Hence my moods used to be as cloudy as the overcast monsoon sky. There was a persistent damp feeling everywhere & dresses took forever to dry up.
My home is on the banks of river Periyar and it's mesmerizing to watch the river when it is raining. The rain lashing on the gentle river and creating turbulent whirlpools is something I love watching .During my childhood, it was usual for Periyar to flood up during monsoon & threateningly encroach on it's banks. It was something much awaited by us, to play on the swollen river banks swarming with fish, crabs and an occasional water snake. And when the flood gates of Boothathankettu Dam were opened up due to overloading, the rain swollen river used to look menacingly beautiful.
Once when I was 7 years old, I went to play in the river accompanied by my mother. I started playing on the flooded stone steps leading to the river. As a child, I used to behave exactly opposite of what I was told to do .So when my mother shouted, 'Dont go further', I had this sudden inner urge to step forth. Involuntarily I took a few paces ahead . But there were no more steps... I fell into a deep gorge and was helplessly drowning in the river. My mother who never swam in her entire life time was forced to jump into the water and drag me out. Now the moment I was confirmed alive I got a good doze of scolding. Thus ended my trysts with the river. Never again during my childhood was I taken anywhere 1 km radius from the river. Even the mention of the word 'river' resulted in terrible outbursts in the form of scolding & threats!!! But then unknown to my family , I had eloped several times with my best friend to the river banks & plucked those tempting water lilies. That's entirely another story.
I remember the time when we went for Goa trip from college. That was one of our best tours. We stayed in a beautiful beach resort , which ensured that we spent a whole day on the sun-kissed sandy beaches of Goa. But the only kill-joy was our Sir who screamed at us, every time we attempted anything adventurous. So in the afternoon, we locked his door from outside when we went out :) We were frolicking in the sea, when out of blue, it started raining. It was not an ordinary drizzle; it was a heavy thunderous outpour.. And we delightfully stayed in the sea, while the heavens poured itself out. It was simply blissful...And the best part was, we were so far away from the shore, even crossing the danger zone, where a red pole was hoisted as warning.
These incidents surface my mind when I think about monsoon. Between, I am planning to buy the book 'Where the rain is born' compiled by Anitha Nair.It's a collection of stories about Kerala. The title of the book itself is too tempting for me...
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12 comments:
Hey Nice Nostalgic post :). Somehow in addition to all this there were certain memories about the rain that came on the first day of the school. Every year school started on June 1 and rain also started on June 1 and there was this amazing feeling about going to class with new books , new bag and a new umbrella . BTW "Where the rain is born " is not a collection of short stories it is a collection of writings about Kerala and some of it is really good :). Enjoy reading!
I like the photos on your blog. They all add a special touch to the post!
yeah...this looks neat.
n c...I told its nostalgic :)
maneesha
Well..let me tell u honestly, u have some really original writing skills with you..Someday u should try writing a book .. I remember a christmas relates post , which was also very good.. this is also equally good.. :)
Reminds me of the song mazhayil, rathri mazhayil, pozhiyum sneha niravil....
Am done with ur reading ur post. Nashtology, if u know what I mean, is what i feel now.. :) ;) :D Finely penned...
photo is beautiful
rain, river, nostalgia - beautiful post, and i mean it.
:)
I'm a boy from the village, and we had 4 ponds around the house when i was growing up (now we have two).
the dip under the overcast sky and the sound of water landing on water - thunder, tadpoles, and thick mud giving way under my feet.
joys of innocence, and the warmth of cold water.
you make me ache to turn time back.
@nariyal chutney: yeah.. arrival of monsoon & school reopening always used to be synonymous...now that i got a good review from you, i can safely buy the book:)lately, i have a collection of unread books which i bought with great expectation :(
@pradyot: thnx...
@maneesha: ok ..so i decided to heed to your advice once in a while :p
@ajith: thnx buddy ****faints reading that*** :D
@velu: hmmm..nostalgia just creeped in..i was taking care not to let it dominate my posts lately :)
@anon: thnx
@toothless wonder: now with your comment, nostalgic effect is boomeranging on me..in a way, it's good..we wont realise the value of such stuff when we have it all the time..
i enjoy your writing very much.
your life seems so very different from mine here in florida, USA, and, yet, we are all concerned with too little rain, too much rain...
my growing up years were full of hurricanes, my home was along the st. johns river...water plays such an important part in my memories.
we live a world apart and i want to thank you for sharing yours with me.
I love rain dance...rain walking ....well written mind blowing
@somepinkflowers: welcome here pink flowers:)it was nice knowing that you share the same kind of growing-up memories..monsoon was an integral part of our life since the season lasted almost half of the year in my place...
@raghu ram: yeah..anything related to rain is truly beautiful..
Made me nostalgic about my home by Pamba. Anita Nair's book is an excellent compilation of writings about Kerala. A must read.
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