The Monsoon Magic is black and mostly off track but still, we love it

If I say that Gods are selfish then please don’t mind because every year they ensure that the monsoons start from God’s own country i.e., Kerala. While the entire country awaits rains, it is Kerala that takes away the lion’s share. Located at the entry point of southwest monsoon, it’s the first landmass  with which monsoon makes connection. No doubt the monsoon magic has created one of the most beautiful state in India  with a lot of scenic places, greenery, and backwaters.

The moment the monsoon magic sets in Kerala the rest of the states in India start looking forward to rains. The first drop of rainwater on a parched piece of land creates a scent that just enthralls us. This earthly scent also called petrichor (Sondhi smell) is a result of the rain drops kissing the earth.

Romancing the monsoon with a steaming cup of tea and some hot pakoras and looking out of the window is one of the most mesmerizing moments of life. The tiny droplets of water rolling down the leaves, the small pool of water where you can float your kagaz ki kashti, and the sweet music of cricket coming from every corner of the garden are what monsoon magic is all about. On the other hand, the monsoon is also about flooding of roads, traffic jams and reaching late to office. But then every coin has two sides.

The thundering of clouds is the sound of music to the farmers

Remember Aamir Khan’s Lagaan! There was this song where all the villagers get excited seeing dark rainy clouds and start singing a song. However, to everybody’s dismay, the clouds disappear as soon as they come dashing the hopes of rain. In the end, the villagers had to play a cricket match with the Britishers to win a tax exemption.

The picture hasn’t changed much and it’s the same even after 75 years of independence. Every year the weather department makes a prediction and gives a date of arrival of monsoon in different states. And every year it’s the same story. The monsoons do arrive but after missing at least 6-7 dates. In real life, if you ditch your loved one even once on a date, life will take a different course.

Despite the TCS, Infosys, Wipro of the world making a name for India on the global map, it’s agriculture that drives our economy. And what drives agriculture? Well, plain and simple monsoon! It’s the agriculture that brings those goodies to our table making us enjoy the monsoon and its magic.

The monsoon magic is best enjoyed with tea

Tea is an all-season beverage. Whether it is a cold chilly winter morning or a hot summer evening, tea can be enjoyed at any hour. But drinking a cup of tea while watching raindrops falling on your window is the most romantic of all moments. And the romance quotient enhances further when you add a plate of hot pakoras or bhajiya.

Depending on which geographical location you are enjoying the monsoons, you always have a tea partner. The pakoras in the north get replaced by bhajiya or batata-vada in the west or fried idli and dal-vada in the south. Tea gets replaced by coffee when it comes to the south but the common denominator remains the monsoon.

The cool blowing wind, the sound of thunder, and the scent of sand

When the wind becomes cooler and a pleasant one and the dark clouds cover the sky it’s an indication that rains are not far away. The thunderstorm followed by the lightning is an indication that the emperor has arrived to conquer the scorching heat. Even the sun bows out and takes a backseat out of sheer respect. It’s a moment that the whole country looks forward to every June.

The first raindrops on the parched land and the scent of the sand spellbounds you to the black magic of the monsoon. The small pools of water with kids jumping in it and splashing water all over are so exhilarating that even their mom refuses to interfere. Listening to the ghazal by Jagjit and Chitra “Woh kagaz ki kashti woh baarish ka paani” is sheer nostalgia during the rains. People living in town with a lot of greenery can even listen to the frogs croaking and jumping on the verandah.

A rainy day

There was a time when schools used to declare off on rainy days. Missing school without the burden of homework meant you could play the whole day. But most of the time the rain God played a spoilsport. He would ensure that the rains continued non-stop for 3 days. As a result, kids had to stay indoors and study. These days if it rains for 3 continuous days, you can imagine the plight of the cities. Life will come to halt and people will pray to the sun god rather than the rain god.

It seems that the monsoon God is vacationing in England these days. Whether it was the ICC test match final between India and New Zealand or the Wimbledon that is currently being played, the monsoon is showing its dark magic bringing the games to a standstill. The reason most of the time important matches get held up due to rains is that even rain God is interested in watching the same.

The Monsoon magic and the romance with Bollywood

Bollywood movies to a great extent are influenced by monsoon magic. Sridevi dancing in a raincoat with a bunch of goons in Chaalbaaz or Smita Patil dancing to the tune of “Aaj rapat jaye toh” in Namak Halal are songs that have got permanently etched in our memory.  Somehow these romantic dance sequences have become a thing of the past. A current lot of movies believe more in vulgarity. The contrast between the earlier rain dance songs and the ones today is that of Scotch and an IMFL.

To be successful in Bollywood every actor has to perform a rain dance song. Rajesh Khanna and Mumtaz had great chemistry and had mastered the art of dancing in the rain. Then we had Raj Kapoor and Nargis in Shri 420 performing to the tune of “Pyaar hua ikrar hua” that set the umbrella on  fire. Even our baba Sanjay Dutt had performed a memorable one in the movie Yalgaar dancing with Sonam.

The reason most of the actors used the monsoon to express love to their partner was that monsoon magic would cast a spell on the heroine and it was difficult for her to say no to the proposal.

The monsoons are here

So don’t get impatient. The monsoons are just outside your city waiting for the weatherman to give a green signal. It’s a different matter that despite a green signal the monsoon ditches them quite often.

It’s time to keep the tea kettle ready along with chickpea dough and some cut potato and onion. Ask Alexa to be on standby to play some beautiful rainy songs. The pleasant wind has already started blowing and the clouds are getting darker. The monsoon magic is here to spellbound you.

Read more such stories on my blog. Click on the following link:

The Tea accompaniments and the romance with the tea

The Jungle Book characters that came alive on social media

Visit Goa in the monsoons:

https://www.makemytrip.com/travel-guide/goa/best-time-to-visit.html

Kerala is beautiful in monsoons:

https://www.keralatourism.org/monsoon/