Rain rain go away...

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Not being the adventurous sorts to venture out in the rain, I was mostly under self imposed "house arrest" this weekend. Having ample time to think over things I started to wonder that how perspectives change. As children, monsoons were welcomed with dance in the rain, a paper boat in the puddle near by and juicy mangoes. I remember spending hours near the window,... brooding....at the view outside...notice small things...about how the street dog is getting wet, how the cows are huddled up and sitting under the tree...about how motorists in all their rain gear would drive carefully on the road splashing puddle water ...about how the cars would just do the same without bothering much. I remember watching other children too...in their umbrella and raincoats, floating the paper boats in the puddle...

After the initial euphoria, that is getting drenched in the first monsoon showers, most of the time was spent indoors. Had to make do with my younger brother as a 'play' companion. As children, we particularly didn't get along and almost most of the times, either one of us would go complaining to our parents about how the other one was cheating or disturbing or just being. I don't particularly like this season. For one, my birthday falls in this season and well, my name reflects the same too. As a kid, my birthday was always a damp affair...thanks to the rains which decide to arrive at precisely the same time, my friends were to come over. My mom would be very skeptical of the number of kids which would turn up. My friends from school almost never turned up if they didn't live near by. It was probably too much of a hassle for the parents. Well-my friends from the colony did turn up but they were few in number. We would play a lot of 'child'ish games but with an eye on the weather outside. All the delicious food which my mother would have prepared was not entirely consumed simply because of the lesser number of arrivals.

Today, when I look out of the window or stand in my balcony, I recall my childhood and the various memories associated with it. I think of all those non happening birthdays :-(. Even in college, it was the same. It was a bit of pain to celebrate my birthday because everyone would be loaded with their raincoats, umbrellas and definitely not their best dressed (you dont want to splash rain water on your good clothes - do you?). Both of our birthdays, Munish's and mine, fall in this wet season...and really, I am not too happy about that. Although, Munish is all very excited and happy with the onset of rains. Somehow, I cannot bring myself to share his enthusiasm as I forsee the wet, dark and cloudy months of water pouring all over forcing us to stay inside.

Monsoon ke side effects!!!!

Mumbai has a love - hate relationship with Monsoons!!!! Mumbaikars... - well most of the them....wait for this season..... the sea has a different colour, a different feel.... the breeze is oh so wonderful... the hot makai and tapri ka chai...an umbrella which threatens to fly away with the wind.... and the noise of the pitter - patter....:-) makes you want to cuddle up with a good book, sitting near the window... as you watch the world go by....hmmmm.....

View from my balcony

On the other hand, for lesser mortals, who struggle during the week, there is the other side... there is the crazy monsoon traffic....we hope that "today" we are not late for work...due to the crazy traffic, non complying auto wallahs, the snobbish taxi wallahs and well - the local trains which are forever running later.... we just hope, that we reach to our workplaces....DRY....we just hope, that a car passing by, hopefully, will not splash the mucky roadside puddle water on your clothes.... we just pray that the leather that we carry (shoes / laptop bags / purses / wallets) survives...... hmmmmm.....

Well - monsoons has it side effects.....to begin just listing them would be sooooo unfair..... but then being put under house arrest due to the unpredictable rains is not fair...to the extent that we visited one of our friends uninvited :-P for tea and conversation...:-) We played a lot of games...sudoku, scrabble, pictionary ....had a lovely afternoon nap.... but all this was a bit too much.... even the play station was not spared....I did my n number of household chores....but I just could not concentrate.... I WANTED TO GO OUT.... I needed my SUNSHINE...... :-P and I was feeling awful because I was not getting out..... all this ranting induced me to crib on this space....hmmmm.... and dearies, this is just June....*eyes rolling*... the best is yet to come :-P


Miss my sunshine!!!!

2006: Puneet Gupta

Been a long time since I updated the blog on the decade that went by. I had been thinking for quite sometime about writing on Puneet. Many a times or rather most of the times we take life for granted. We live in a eutopian world and believe that anything good, bad or ugly will not happen to us. We love to believe that....


Puneet was my cousin brother...he was 19 years old when he dissappeared from our lives. He was a damn good student. Topped his state in the boards and was studying in the 2nd year of BITS, Goa. That was the year 2006.

A class picnic on a Dussera Holiday. A bunch of kids just having fun under the watchful eyes of the college peons. He was no swimmer. So the question of him fooling around in the waves did not arise. He slipped. The sand gave away. The waves took him. He started yelling for help. There was no life guard on the shores. A classmate ran to help him. He died too. And another one too. Before he could reach the hospital, we had lost him.


It was a tough. One day he's between us and the next day he's not. How does one learn to tackle death of a near and dear one. Its so tough on the parents and the siblings. When you are 19 years old, you have so many dreams in your eyes. Of how the life is going to unfold. Of what you are going to be and achieve. Your parents have so many dreams for you. All comes to an abrupt end.


I had not met him for like close to 2 years. I regret it. I have no reasons for not meeting him. I was just too caught up in my own life in Mumbai. Well thats not an excuse. At his funeral, when I saw him lifeless, I was filled with sorrow and remorse. And wondered why him. My grandparents wailed. They were 80-85 and yet living. They cursed themselves. As to why did they have to face this day.


I regretted a lot those days. Losing a younger sibling or anyone for that matter is not easy. But sometimes, I feel that such a wonderful, talented and lovable life ended abruptly. Sometimes, when I go back home to Ahmedabad, I see a plant which he had planted in the garden or the photoframe which he had gifted my folks on their anniversary. My mom found some random scribblings. I feel proud of the person he was. Even though he is no more.


The experience didn't teach me much. Except that I regretted a lot that I didnt meet him enough. Am not very close to my extended family. But sometimes, events like this just come out of the blue and punch you in your face and make your realise that you are just one of the zillions characters in this world and anytime your role on this god forsaken planet might come to an end. And many a times, I feel its just not fair. To anyone. People should be given advance notice. So that they can finish the million things they need to do. Just so that everyone is ok. But I guess - thats life.
 
More to follow on the decade that went by....later !!!!