Those loamy lowering skies, finally casting a blanket of slatey coolness on the searing glare of sunshine. Scudding clouds gathering together as in a meeting and then finally, the first drop. The rumble, the thunder and finally the cloud burst, the downpour... its like rebirth, washing away the clamour the noise of the traffic, the dust, heat, the violence, the already heated up fiery emotions doused as nature takes over. God turns on the tap leaving every one to hurry for shelter.
Routine comes to a halt, life, normal as we know it, is suspended. And everyone stops to breathe, look out, gaze at the rain. Maybe we become humans again. The lame litany of complaints of the heat, lack of rain all quelled, everyone breathes a sigh of relief, the typically pre-rain cool breeze, which stirs fragrant with the freshness of verdure, of the earth, as it rises up to greet the showers. As roads turn into waterways, the same hurrying traffic as people try to make their way home in the blinding downpour, endless traffic lines, the deafening roar of the downpour drowning out human voices. Yes there are breakdowns, chaos, but everyone is glad.
Somehow this monsoon, a bit delayed, has been a kind of anti-climax, no major flooding, snarled traffic jams, choked roads, impassable, except for the first day, when people were caught at work on the way. Probably we've become inurned to the annual phenomena. We had the usual broken down cars, outages etc, but apparently many of the outages were deliberate as the KESC wanted to prevent risk of electrocution where the lines were weak and vulnerable to breakages. But in the silence, the steady fall of sheets of rain becomes more reverberant. Although there has been no wading through torrents of gushing water and this monsoon has been tame, but as usual there were volunteers who stood by to help stranded cars. Last year they pushed our waterchoked cars to the side and told us to wait till it dried out. And at busy intersections, gangs of youth directed cars, towing them across, untangling traffic, asking whether You needed help, where you had to go and telling you the best way forward .
Rain is when everyone forgets differences, enmities and come together in a happy spirit of bonhomie, rich or poor. Many head out to the beach or picnic at the sea or long to go on a long drive with their loved ones. The radio air waves resonate with tunes of rainy days and beloveds and thrilled callers or listeners message in their dedication to their loved ones 'on this rainy day'. A sense of excitement electrifies all voices. Everything seems beautiful, cleansed somehow. Every normal being wishes to be outdoors to enjoy the weather and get drenched, to commune with nature. A RJ helpfully gives tips on taking a shower afterwards to avoiding falling ill. There is joy when a stranger happily comes to your rescue to push your car. The youth don't stand idly by, they are as it were galvanised into action and jump in and make themselves useful and feel proud to help. We need rains to bring out our humanity, to wipe away the rancour, differences, to reveal the untapped chivalry of the youth, (wish it wasn't just only in the rain). And then when like a thundershower, its all too soon over, we'll don our masks, wear our uniforms and go back to work. The city's steely armour will slide back into place.