Rains!

What’s with rains and me? I love rains and that’s an understatement.

I was sent to a boarding school at the age of five or so. My parents, both working professionals thought it better that I should be raised in a boarding rather than be left on my own among the house help .The school was called Pine Mount and true to its name it was on top of a quaint hill surrounded by pine trees in the picturesque capital of Meghalaya, Shillong.

Meghalaya as the name aptly defines, is the abode of clouds. Most days of the academic year we would wake up to cloudy grey skies or a light drizzle. Even at that young age I loved wearing my rubber gum boots and raincoat and running off to play hide and seek in the light drizzle. What fun it was when low clouds suddenly made everything within a few meters disappear and then suddenly reappear again like magic. Aaahaa! Planting the first seeds of a romantic in me!

During my teenage and growing up years in Guwahati I have some nostalgic memories of rain. The rains would start as early as April and continue till late September.

The flooding of streets, returning home drenched from college, the sight of the turbulent  Brahmaputra spilling into its embankments, the lush green foliage on the Navagraha hill. And of course I slowly blossomed into a poet! Who wouldn’t? When the rain fell on the tin roof of my Assam type house, I discovered rhyme and rhythm in that cacophony. What else can I say I think I had fallen in love with the monsoons!

Delhi and rain is a misnomer! Yet in my first home on the fourth floor of a DDA flat in Vasant Kunj,I witnessed lovely short spells of rain. My little daughter’s enthusiasm to use her new umbrella didn’t get dampened.

And finally Mumbai! I re-discovered my love for the monsoons!

Sudden down pours during walks on Marine Drive, the sight of approaching grey clouds over the Arabian Sea, roast corn on hot coal, high tide on chowpatty beach, reaching work in wet shoes, drenched seats of the yellow and black cabs, cycling in the rain! I can go on and on describing the many shades and sounds of my love!

I wonder why I love the summer showers so much? Is it the soothing sound of rain falling? Is it the sight of everything washed, cleaned and sparkling? Is it the cool breeze that brings summer temperatures down? Why do I feel so happy when it rains? Anyway how does it matter? I am in love and as long as the raindrops keep falling on my head I am happy!

 Listen to this lovely song to go with the mood.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OT1HCQcSHW0

The Great Indian Dress Code!

No bikinis on Goa beaches': After short dresses, minister calls for ban on skimpy swimwear 'to prevent sex attacks'.

 ‘Union minister of state for tourism  wants to end ‘pub culture’.

 13/7/2014 headlines on TOI.

Dear Minister

 I applaud your wisdom and mature observation regarding crime and its prevention in your beautiful state of Goa. Your esteemed self has rightly, in the manner of a fine, cultured and highly educated person, given this conclusion that  pubs ,short dresses and bikinis (hope I got the order correct, saar?) lead to crimes. Your duty to uphold our Great Indian Culture is truly an honorable decision.

 May I as a humble citizen of this nation make a very small suggestion in this regard? (Of course with your permission, saar!)

Firstly, why not introduce a dress code saar? This dress should cover from head to toe. Nothing except the eyes should be exposed (the female species are known to seduce even with bewitching eyes) so the eyes too should only be seen through a net.

The Dress-Code!

 The implementation of such an extra-ordinary dress code will not only boost tourism but also earn you laurels from party high command. You will be upholding the GREAT INDIAN CULTURE!!(Thundering applause: background score)People will visit your state from every corner of the planet to witness such a unique place which has such a beautiful dress-code. The Taliban will be dammed (we will beat them on this score)

   

Secondly, brigades of Goa Moral police (these can be party supporters and happy volunteers) should move around the whole state (in similar dress code) and catch the violators. A public lashing (minimum 5 lashes) should be accorded to such indecent public who dare to wear short western outfits or the equally scandalous outfit called the BIKINI!

 Such dresses tantalize the vulnerable Indian male, transforms him into a violent criminal! The strong grounding he received in his morally righteous Indian upbringing  just melts away like butter at the sight of such alluring clothing. The Great Indian value system crumbles when he witnesses such indecently clad persons especially in the pristine beaches of Goa. And when he is forced (much against his will) to visit bars and pubs and down a few drinks, the helpless and powerless male loses his mind and is tormented to break his ties with his pure desi-bred culture and values. He becomes an animal who is compelled to rape. He is absolutely innocent and cannot be held responsible or guilty in any score for his sex crimes! He is after all The Great Indian Male (hail to thee!)

 Dear Minister, I am awed at your innate judgment and insight. I salute you. It is only leaders like you who can lead our nation to earn new laurels in today’s progressive world. We shall give excellent competition and sleepless nights to the likes of the Taliban and Boku-Haram. They will have to come up with more innovative ways to deal with those vultures of western society and cultivators of immoral women who visit pubs in bikinis and go to beaches in short dresses. (Deliberate mix up) They are all the same these scum bags, these dirty women. They are all evil, evil westernized women and they should all burn in hell or wear the new dress
code. After all what you want is just to protect them.

 Uphold the  Indian naari of this Great Indian nation and uphold our culture, isn’t it Saar?!