The weather this morning reminded me of the umpteen June mornings in Bombay early monsoon. Most schools reopened on June 13th every year (wonder why!) and it’d coincide with the beginning of the monsoons too. I love the monsoon; it’s my favourite time of the year. Summers in B’bay are tortuous and winters are awfully wannabe. But yes, most of the years, 31st December used to be one chilly night as lalunadiosa might vouch for…:-)
Coming back to June in B’bay, schools reopened that week every year. New textbooks, rain shoes (always termed as ‘rainy shoes’), gumboots (horrible stuff in shades of red and black!), the narrow road to my school crowded with pesky autorickshaws, huge school buses, umbrellas in all sizes, prints, colours, squealing kids, valiant Moms lugging humongous school bags, even larger lunch boxes (!)…. Most often, I’d have spent the former two months of summer vacation in sunny Kerala and the prospect of waking up to school, PT lessons (I HATED them!), my classmates (who thought me a snob for 10 years, even more…:-(), some clearly partisan teachers…. grey and gloomy mornings only accentuated the feeling of sheer misery and depression.
It’d be many more years before I realised the romance of the Bombay monsoons…:-)
About 6 years more!
Once out of school, the monsoons became beautiful, pleasurable, romantic… Rainy days spent tramping all over Churchgate searching for books at the pavement book stalls, bargaining with book sellers who vouched for THAT book by O Henry as a classic or THIS book by Steinbeck as a great buy, strolling along Marine Drive by the wild sea and finding salt crystals in my hair after getting home, hot corn on the cob, getting back to the suburbs in the cramped train from platform 6 on Churchgate station, traveling in the sweaty male-dominated General Compartment simply so that I could spend a few minutes more with Pinch, getting stared daggers at by all the people in the compartment who cared for a young couple holding hands…:-)
From the wet pavements of Churchgate to the coffee-scented environs of Barnes and Noble, looks like the two of us have come a long way.
parag says:
Doesn’t monsoon start in Kerala before Maharashtra? So, you used to bring the rains along with you to Mumbai. Thanks! Monsoon was, is, and will always be my most favorite season in India.
May 27, 2004 — 11:37 am
Lakshmi says:
Not always….
May 27, 2004 — 2:18 pm
hemya says:
i get nostalgic abt a lotta things when i rains and its been raining quite a bit here in apna akron….
May 27, 2004 — 11:41 am
parag says:
It has been raining like Mumbai in Ann Arbor for the last few days. A lot of places around here are flooded from it. Do you have that problem in Akron?
May 27, 2004 — 12:15 pm
hemya says:
no flooding where i live..but a lotta rain..like cloudbursts..but a few miles away in this area called the cuyahoga valley there was quite bit of flooding
May 27, 2004 — 12:23 pm
Lakshmi says:
Yes, me too…
May 27, 2004 — 2:17 pm
anindita says:
And now, I miss Bombay!
Oh girl you make me miss Bombay so bad! I compensate for the corn on the cob by grilling my own these days, but the place.. how do i bring it with me except in my heart?
Thanks for the imagery though!
A
May 27, 2004 — 1:54 pm
Lakshmi says:
Re: And now, I miss Bombay!
You’re welcome…:-)
May 27, 2004 — 2:16 pm
Lakshmi says:
Not so sweet always… But yes, today it was…:-)
May 27, 2004 — 7:26 pm
kookygoblin says:
Despie ur vehement assertion to the contrary u are a romantic…..;)
sorry cudnt resist:)
May 27, 2004 — 7:57 pm
nithya says:
hahahaha look who is talking…
romantic personified herself.. eh???
May 27, 2004 — 8:05 pm
Lakshmi says:
Not really, Aditi.. Ask my sis; I am not…:-)
May 28, 2004 — 4:56 am
nithya says:
churchgate sure is the best place to be … irrespective of the season..
we used to leave home at 9 in the night .. spend all night at marine drive and take the first train back home.. used to be good fun..
one place in churchgate which i went gagas over was 5 spices… and their lamb fortune rice…
i know i sound like a glutton.. but the very thought brings back the taste… hehehe
May 27, 2004 — 8:03 pm
Lakshmi says:
Oh, I loved the Rustoms outlet… The most innovative ice-creams and fruit drinks… Plus Bade Miyan for kebabs… Haven’t been to 5 spices….:-(
May 28, 2004 — 4:57 am
deelight says:
Hey 5 Spices rocks! Good food.
May 28, 2004 — 11:25 am
appughar says:
Ironic is the fact that schools reopened at Kerala at 1st June, almost the same date as monsoons used to hit there. Somehow reopening of the schools seems to synched with the arrival of monsoons!!!
I am eagerly awaiting for the monsoons to arrive here at b’bay. Monsoons has hit Kerala 10-15 days earlier this time around. So I was hoping for an earlier arrival of monsoons at b’bay too. But unfortunately still no trace of it out here.
I used to go and stand near the sea (Sankmukham beach at tvm) to watch the arrival of monsoon. The sheer power and force of the rain/sea/nature is absolutely one hell of an sight. Maybe this time around, I should go to marine drive to witness its arrival.
Last monsoon I was most of time inside IIT, and seldom went out of campus, mainly due to unfamiliarity with the city and lack of confidence in my ability to communicate well in hindi. So I guess, this will be my real first bombay monsoon experince. A good news for me is that, I might well be filming during this period.
Btw have you read Chasing the monsoons by Alexander Frater. A real good journey with the rains.
May 28, 2004 — 1:55 am
Lakshmi says:
No.. Will check the book my next library visit.. Hey, you better make sure you get well soaked in the B’bay rains this year.. they’re lovely!
May 28, 2004 — 5:03 am
lalunadiosa says:
baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
i want to go home…..you made me super nostalgic…..
am off to see the gang in NYC…maybe that will help…
May 28, 2004 — 8:54 am
deelight says:
You guys have really come a long way.Must feel nice to look back and relive those moments. *sigh*
May 28, 2004 — 11:26 am
radhika74 says:
lovely post..utterly romantic,just the wa y i like it.:)
May 29, 2004 — 12:51 am