Not so New Girl in the City

Hyderabad. Three years ago this name represented nothing more than Charminar and Biryani to me. Three years later, here I am contemplating the mood of this city.

To every outsider Hyderabad is always Biryani, South India and "Hau nako Baatan". Every restaurant in India claims to be making Hyderabadi Biryani, Lemon rice and Guntur Idli is a delicacy even at functions in Malaysia, Angrez has made the Old city lingo a brand and the IIT/AIEEE aspirants will curse Hyderabadi's every year for taking off a chunk of their seats.

Well, I am here to elaborate on none of that.

I will talk instead of Hyderabadi Rains!

As a Mumbaikar, I am used to a healthy (not really) dosage of rains between June-September even if it involves swimming to reach ones destination. Rain has always been an important part of life.

In my first year here, there was no denying the fact that Monsoon was not a favourite season of this city. Sparse showers here and there. June-September passed uneventfully and sometimes with glaring sun! I made peace with the city by listening to "Iktara" on repeat and willing it to rain.

It seems my "Iktara" penance worked! 2010 was the year of Monsoon! It rained all the 12 months bringing out the best of my writing skills and moods.

My luck soon wore out with 2011 and it seemed rain had ditched Hyderabad once again.

Then today, the wind set free and gradually the clouds began to gather in the horizon. I started to hope against hope glancing furtively out of the balcony. I was rewarded well. It drizzled... and soon there was a downpour! Rushing out I let the rain drench me from head to toe bringing back memories of the many rains in Hyderabad.

It was then that it hit me that this might be my last rain in Hyderabad.

It rains everywhere in the world but the best part of Hyderabad's rain lies in its unpredictability. The sense of anticipation that follows the clouding of the sky. The distress that follows if it rains everywhere else except your area. The excitement you feel when there is rain at one end of the road and the other side is stark dry. The triumph you feel when it rains despite rain haters wishing that the clouds would pass. The happiness that engulfs you when after a heated day the rain cools you down.

Where else in the world would friends start a string of text messages if they notice it clouding and probe if it has begun raining in your area? The rare shower will make you reminiscence of love be it reciprocated or unrequited. It is a rare moment when you add "adrak" to your tea after you have finished enjoying the rain.

Rain in Hyderabad is an event. Everyone is aware of it. It is not a regularity... It is a novelty!

A Mystery!

That makes Hyderabad Rains special.

And I will miss them.

P:S- If it is still raining in your area. Don't miss out. Get drenched. Rains are beautiful and Hyderabad's.... even more so!

Rain doesn't fall forever...

Tiny translucent drops glaze the windows

The rain falls steadily as they gaze out

Together for the last time tonight

Smiling at the disappearance of the last sunlight

Two mugs of coffee turning cold

Fingers inches apart yet they don’t hold

The tension lies thick in the air

Mingled with longing and care

He traces her face to commit to memory

For there will be no photos to prove this theory

That they had loved and lost each other the same night

The world had torn them apart with all its might

She would have destroyed the world had he wanted the same

Yet what was to speak of a relationship that had no name?

She stirs her coffee aimlessly without meaning to drink

Their journey together had come to its brink

Tomorrow she would leave and never be back

He had come to bid her his final goodbye

Wanting to comfort her and take all the blame

Yet how could he make her stop without a claim?

They rose with their coffee mugs and emptied them in the sink

Laughing they closed the distance within as he held her in his arms

Reveling in the companionship for one last time

Before they would be separated by the society’s norms

It was with smiles that they drew apart

She went into her room and plopped into the bed

He sat by the fire place his eyes red

He promised he’d be gone before she would wake

She knew she wouldn’t sleep a wink whatever it takes

And sure enough at sun break she stood by her window

Watched him walk ahead into the meadows

He glanced back one last time, his eyes shining

She waved with finality and watched him disappear into the lining….

1. Rainy Reunion

He hated the rain. It made him think and that was the last thing he wanted to do now. He kicked the tyre of his bike willing it to jerk back in action. To no avail. Cursing he dragged the vehicle to a nearby shed. Wiping his brow he noted that the rain had done a lot of damage to his brakes. It messed up the road, his bike and his peace of mind!
Leaning against the thin pole of the shed he closed his eyes. The loud pattering of the drops hitting the metal roof engulfed him. Swearing, he let his mind wander. The smell of the wet soil filled his senses bringing back her words, "I love the smell of the rain." "It is the most romantic smell ever!" she often said.
How could a smell ever be romantic? He often wondered.
Smiling to himself he remembered how she never spoke much sense. Not that she wasn't intelligent, she enjoyed-- he abruptly jerked.
He couldn't afford to think of her. Running his hand over his hair he kicked the tyre of his bike again.
Her thoughts were not easy to suppress!

***

She stood by her window watching the swift raindrops hit the puddle below. The whooshing wind had glazed the glass pane, she raised her hand to wipe it but ended up tracing his name instead.
Sighing she walked away from the window and sat down by her table. She loved dancing in the rain, smelling the fragrance of the vibrant and alive earth. She heard the door slam. It was her sister. She walked into the room drenched from head to toe.
"You missed it! The weather outside is awesome." she said lightly shaking the droplets out of her hair.
"I was not in a mood to get drenched." she said dismissively walking out the room.
"You are hardly in a mood to do anything nowadays." she heard her sister grumble.
She walked angrily ahead. How could she have not gone out in the rain? This never happened before. He hated the rain but she didn't. He hated a lot of things she conceded and came to a sudden halt.
With a shock of realization she remembered that she had traced his name on the window. What if her sister saw it?
Running back towards the room she flung the door open and rushed to the window. His name had faded into the mist. Just as he had faded from her life.
Tears welled in her eyes as she sank by the window.

***

The rain refused to stop. He took out his cellphone from his front pocket and with a gasp of horror realised that water had seeped into it. It did not need a genius to ascertain that it would never work again. He never hated the rain more.
"You hate the rain?" she had glared.
"Yes."
"You know nothing about happiness." she had said in a mock angry tone.
How little did they ever agree on. Yet when they did agree... it was Magical!
That is how they had ended the magic. Neither of them said it but they both understood and went their separate ways. Beyond the magic they knew that they were never meant to be. As an unspoken promise they never allowed the old familiarity to sink in.
The façade was on.
Coming back into present, he wondered if she was enjoying the rain somewhere. It would be just so like her to enjoy the droplets wash over her face and onto her outstretched hands.
He knew that she must be just as preoccupied with the rain as he was. Yet, was she enjoying it? The thought refused to go.
It was important to him that she enjoy the rain. And suddenly he felt an urgent need to be with her. To share the rain with her. The feeling was above any objection his mind put forward.
Unmindful of the people on the road, his sabotaged phone and his hate for the rain, he stepped out of the shed. The rain splattered on him.
He outstretched his hand and inhaled the fragrance of the wet soil.

***

The tears had dried on her face leaving their trail behind. She got up to wash her face when her phone started blinking. It was a number she did not recognize.
"Hello," said a voice that was a part of her soul.
"You?" she asked.
"This is not the time to be in the house. The smell of the rain is overpowering." he said urgently.
"Are you? Are you out in the rain." she asked with disbelief.
"Yes! And so should you be."
The line went dead.
A smile formed on the corners of her lips. Dropping the phone she ran out of the house.

***

He handed over the phone to the bewildered old lady.
"That was the life saving phone call you wanted to make?" she demanded angrily.
"Yes!" he smiled. "It saved our lives."
Saying so he ran in the direction of her house --- to share the rain with her.

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Rainy Reflections

“Today I drop the façade

Lower ever slightly the walls

Seek what I have eluded

And promise to not deceive the deluded”

It is a pity that Monsoon strikes just once in a year.

Rain is my friend in every form, be it the light drizzle of tear drops falling inconsistently, the sudden shower that leaves before you notice it or the rush of water pellets from darkened skies that flood the earth (and roads :P). I hold no discrimination.

The shift of the violent breeze, the clouding of the skies, the smell of the ever alive earth and the stage is set for the rain to fall and me to write.

Yes, the rain is also my closest friend because it awakens a side of me that doesn't write very often.

I write stories my sober self would never call mine and yet I am proud of them.

It is a shame to leave them in my notebooks and my friends share the same opinion for one of them went ahead and created this blog.

So here I am to write.

And it is such an irony that the day I set to type this there isn't a cloud in sight!

But then there are stories... stories of the many rainy days of the year gone by that will soon fill this page.

There will be no escape for they will always be here for all to see and judge through the time... until the day I have no more to say of the rain!

Chances are... it will rain tonight!