Nothing makes me smile more than the smell of rain.
There is something pristinely purifying about rain as it works its way down to us - almost like a message from above.
It heals, in its gentle presence. It quietens the mind with its comforting chatter.
It cleanses and clears the air.
It brightens up my world even when the skies are grey. To me, the colors seem crisper, brighter and more livelier after a rain than ever before. The world smells different.
It smells of life and joy of hope and healing. It holds hope and vitality colored in vibrance. It announces a fresh beginning - of life bursting forth through the dry earth.
It means all this and more.
Not for me the dull, dreary view of the rainy day.
Cloudy, grey, dull, windy, cold - that's how the world finds the rain. I on the other hand sit by the window and cloak myself in fond memories.
Memories of midnight walks splashing through puddles, soaking to the skin - worried about getting sick the next day; but still with a smile that extends from one end to the other. Memories of cooking maggi on a hotplate sitting by the open door to the verandah as the rain patters down, all through the day. Memories of languid afternoons spent lazing, chatting with friends, talking of everything and nothing with the rain for pleasant company.
Memories of that loud pitter-patter of the monsoons as it batters the tin roof of our ancestral home.
Memories of driving through glistening roads lined with freshly washed coconut trees as we try and stay dry with the rains finding their way through those canvas window covers.... it feels like in another lifetime. Memories of the croaking toads that suddenly appear as if from nowhere soon after the first rains.
Memories of those tiny, mushrooms that make their home in the little crevices of rotting old trunks as we all rush for cover.
Memories of long, dark nights of thunder and lightning as the mighty monsoons announce their glorious arrival.
Memories of those muddy clothes as we splashed our way through that green, wooded campus, in the middle of the night - only for that one cup of coffee.
Ah - rains... and the memories that come with them... :)
