Rainy mornings

There is something precious about rainy mornings. The rain batters against the windows and you look out of your kitchen. For once you don’t mind the untidy overgrowth of green in the lawn. The diamond drops on the grass glitter away. As the rain pours outside, you find yourself humming as you pour out the dosa batter on the sizzling tawa. The mind is far away, entangled somewhere in the memories of childhood. You don’t want to hear people talk about mundane things like income tax returns or shopping for groceries for the next meal. The only sound which matters is that music of the rain.

I have to go to work. Half-heartedly. If I listened to my heart, I would probably put on some Gulzar-Pancham-Asha music, make some adrak wali chai and look out of the French doors at my garden all morning. But work beckons. Can I still make the drab office space interesting when the rain overwhelms my senses? There aren’t even proper windows to look out of when you want to.

In a season where people thank their luck for being able to drive cars to work, I smile when I see my two-wheeler. Yes, I need a raincoat to protect the laptop in my backpack, but who will forego a chance to get wet in the rain. I feel like a child in the rain- desperate to splash through the water. As I drive through the drizzle, I try to soak in the green around me. When vehicles around me are whizzing past, I deliberately slow down, trying the enjoy the weather. Trying to sing in the rain while I try not to skid in the mushy mud.

It won’t last too long, this weather. It will soon become humid and hot in a few days. It will change like everything in life does. I’m thinking of a friend who left us because of leukemia. How did he feel knowing that he wouldn’t be around for too long? How did he smile through it? Did knowing that the end is near give him a chance to do all that he wanted to with all his heart? What would he have told his seven-year old twins had he lived long enough? Did he love and live life more earnestly than others knowing that his time was up?

Katra katra behta hai, katra katra behne do… I can already hear the song in the silences.