Singin' in the Rain

January 26, 08'

The image of Madras when it rains will always be etched in my mind..

Its not just the rain. It so much more really. I hardly knew it then, but these will go on the becoming part of some of the happiest and most cherished moments in my life. Today all of these flashed through my mind with nostalgia and wistfulness. For the first time since I came here, I desperately missed Madras. Here's a random collection of glimpses into the sounds, the smells and the memories..

The gradual graying of the skies before the heavens burst open.
The intoxicating-ly damp smell of the earth as the first raindrops hit the dusty earth.
The overpowering lethargy of not wanting to go to school/college.
Listening to the sound of hard hitting rain on the asbestos roof above my courtyard.
Wearing bathroom chappals to school/college coz ur feet are gonna get wet anyway.
The small joys of not wearing socks n shoes to school that day.
Slushy roads I had to walk thru to get to my bus for college.
Being annoyed at dirt being splashed on the back of my jeans.
How the Anna Nagar roads looked flooded with water and people wading through them.
The lazy empty-ness of the classroom on a rainy day.
The rows of umbrellas I see lined up outside class.
The rumbling thunder in a distance while I daydream my way thru Macro class.
Getting my feet soaked in water puddles while walking from my classroom to where the bus is parked.
Avoiding all wet surfaces in the college canteen.
Wearing some ugly baggy clothes to college coz I just couldn't bother to wear something decent.
The sound of the rain splattering against my window.
Wearing socks to bed when it gets too cold at night.
Listening to loud croaking (really loud) of frogs ringing thru the night before i fall asleep.
Getting pleasantly half-drenched while walking back home after the bus drops me home and my mom's voice comfortingly barking at me soon after.
The touch of the wet door gate before I step in.
The neem tree just outside my house which pelts me with raindrops every time it sways.
The way the plants look in my garden just after it rains.
Untidy piles of garbage gently rotting in the rain.
Jumping over muddy brown puddles.
The freshly scrubbed green leaves on the trees after it rains.
The view from my kitchen window being a blur of green, brown and grey when I go for an afternoon snack.
Being pleasantly woken up to know that there's a holiday coz of floods and more heavy rains.
Hurrying (forcibly by mom) upstairs to get the clothes off the terrace before it gets wet and getting slightly rained on in the process.
Pretending to be Revathy n do that film song in the rain dance.
Walking barefoot on the ground when it rains.
Hearing the drains outside go drip-drip-drip after when it rains.
Curling up with a love-story when it rains.
Hot bajjis when it rains. Yum.
Watching that funny Mohanlal movie when it rains.
A power cut when it rains.
Hearing a transformer burst in a distance when it rains.
Being under an umbrella when it rains or under a blanket.
Sleeping when it rains, dreaming when it rains..

This is a nutshell is what I love about rainy days in madras.