Rains & Romance

 

Those of you, who know me, would be familiar with my ongoing torrid love affair with Nature’s favourite (and also spoilt, in my opinion) child, Rain. It’s a predictable one, like most, a love-hate kind, with more love, and less of the latter.

He never fails to inspire awe in me…a child-like wonder! While ousting me from the most stuporous of slumps, I can’t help but wear a smile, as worries seem to magically melt away. He amplifies my cheerful spirits on a good day, to one of unadulterated joy, awakening the slumbering poet within me into pouring out the most reverent odes, like the one I’m spewing right now! Whoever says that chivalry is dead hasn’t experienced him deftly blending in with the tears streaming down their faces, shielding vulnerable selves from curious, inquisitive eyes. Very much the tease, he enjoys keeping me guessing, as I stew over his intentions;  A few warning drops here, a pleasant drizzle there, a shower where there’s eager anticipation and a deluge somewhere.

On most days, I look forward to his arrival, crave for it even, as he teases me with signs of his impending approach. The blunting of the harsh sun rays, a cool appeasing breeze sometimes, kind of like the beautiful rose petals that the flower girl strews upon the aisle, harbingering the bride’s arrival. The surrounding air seems pregnant, weighing down upon us with it’s sultriness, as I wait expectantly, for the skies to go into labour and give birth to the showers that I crave for; and when the Rain lord eventually chooses to make an entrance, it is a grand unapologetic one, a sudden forceful instantaneous downpour, which none can ignore… quite the prima donna, this one! He soaks in the attention, takes in the applause, enjoys the awestruck gazes, and roars triumphantly at the ovation.

All this rosiness is occasionally marred by the not-so-unexpected lover’s tiff!

When familiarity shows hints of breeding contempt, when my spirits are weighed down by the dreary constancy of the hauntingly dark cloud-laden skies, when my skin begins to yearn for the comforting warmth of Summer, when my eyes wish to squint at the harsh sunrays, and my nose sniffs around for the scent of blooms and dry grass, seeking a break from the mundane, albeit tantalising, aroma of wet earth; He chooses to quietly withdraw, and watch from the stands, as I, yet another fickle human get antsy, made suddenly aware of a void. He bides his time as I mope with dissatisfaction, lamenting my loss of a friend, a partner, a lover. I bemoan my nagging inclination to look over the garden fence at seemingly drier and greener grass. I pine away the days, wondering why I let my heart get entangled in the tempting web that he wove, in the first place.

Time takes His side and decides to cruise about in an agonisingly slow pace; Fretful angst creeps in, my soulful eyes search for him and my starving ears strain for the welcome pitter-patter of his footsteps. The vines of longingness twine around and tug at my heart strings, urging me to swallow my silly pride and call out for him. 

Not being one to ruminate for long, he concedes to my silent but nagging placation and steps over the threshold, into my parched, welcoming home, basking in the adoration, in all his glory!

Ahhh, the drama! Matters of the heart, always amusing, always entertaining!

The end of the year is a wonderful time to visit Chennai, when the Northeast monsoons throw a wild raucous party in this part of the country. While it can be an inconvenience when they cause a fearful deluge, yet it is a blessing for many. It’s arrival cools many a temper, calms many-a-fretful heart, shines light on a dark corner or two, feeds the hungry, quenches the thirsty; all this and more, than just being a respite from the sweltering burning Chennai Sun. This is my expression of love and gratitude to one of Nature’s many valuable offerings to us.