A Love Letter To Rain

The one I'll always love to admire from afar.

Dear Reader,

This is a love letter to rain. My most favourite kind of weather. When the clouds are murky, and the winds are cool. When the days feel gloomy, and the world feels new. This is the time of the year which feels like a transition, especially in India. We have a dedicated monsoon season which typically lasts from June to September. After the scorching heat that we suffer from in May, rain soothes us like a balm after a hectic day. Rain’s not a phenomenon, it’s a feeling that we, as humans, feel from our hearts. Those who romanticize rain and enjoy this weather, are the ones who truly enjoy the little things. Rain is absolutely the love of everyone’s lives and mine too. I don’t know how one can survive without it. 

Blissfully poignant and charmingly clear, are the raindrops that fall, and make me cheer. Every time I watch them falling, while I’m sitting beside the window, my heart flutters to speak these words while I see them glow. “Oh Rain, the dearest of the dearest, the loveliest of the loveliest, how hast thou been so pure? How hast thou been so sure? Sure of the love you bring to this world. Look how you’ve made the world feel so touched. Touched by your presence, touched by your grace, I will always remember, the way you taught me to taste, the thrill of life, the art of being kind, the ultimate feeling to be someone’s slice of life.”

Every time I walk on the streets during this time, it somehow feels magical. Especially during the twilight hour. Imagine this. It’s a Saturday evening. You’ve just gotten done with all your work in the afternoon and you decide to sleep for some time. You wake up during the twilight hour and get mesmerised by the beautiful scenery. It’s raining with dark clouds in the sky. The sun is not shining but there’s still brightness in the atmosphere. The streets are glistening, with the reflection of yellow street lamps decorating them with charm, and wonder. You go outside to stroll around the neighbourhood. It’s raining but not heavily. There’s a slight cool breeze, hitting you gently just like those sprinkles of rain on your hands when you hold your umbrella with one hand. It’s such a nice feeling right? Yes, it is and no one can say otherwise. 

Altruistically beaming and daringly expressive, are the clouds that form, for the rain to fall. Everytime I watch them floating, while I’m waiting for rain to bless us, my heart eludes from this bustling concrete jungle and reaches to a land fashioned by serenity and clandestine aspirations. I aspire to say these words to these murky clouds. ‘You have given me what I’ve missed. That joy, I feel when I look at you. It almost feels like I’m talking to you. Time feels slower when I’m looking at you. It’s as if you are the one I’m made for. The peace I need, I always get from you. I long to reach above and catch you. Get lost in the ways you talk. The thunder almost feels like a song. Lightning runs through my heart, always when your sight tickles my mental mast.”

Some people do like dancing and walking  in the rain without an umbrella. I’m not one of those people. I like admiring its beauty and feeling the cool breeze from the comfort of my home while sitting on a chair beside the window. A cup of black coffee complements it well, with some fitting cozy and relaxing music, soothing my ears. Rain has always been the highlight of my day. A day automatically becomes livable whenever it rains. To be honest, I like enjoying rain on my own, but it does get better when you are with your loved ones. Just talking to them while enjoying the gentle breeze. Eating fritters and drinking a hot beverage like tea or coffee. Playing games, or just sharing stories. All these activities are perfect for a rainy day and they just make that day more memorable I feel.

Romantically elated and luringly witty, is the breeze full of mist, during the time it rains. Everytime I let the window open, for the cool breeze to come in with a gentle knock, my heart longs to feel that love at last. That love to say, “Yes, dear rain. You make the earth beautiful, again and again. Everytime you walk on the plains, and fall down from the sky, smiling like an angel, while making others smile too. There’s not a single thing about you that should be changed. You’re perfect as you are. Just grace us more with your presence. Not a lot but at least a little everyday. Even a few minutes with you, makes my whole day better. That’s how much I long for you, my dearest weather.”

Dark clouds and rain can make any situation and setting better. I still remember, loving those school days, when it used to rain. The dark clouds wouldn’t let the sun rays come in and illuminate the classroom, so we would turn on tubelights. That was the best feeling. We could be studying or even playing some games or just talking sometimes. I long for those days to come again, but sadly they can’t. I still remember that day when our empathetic, positive, and friendly Hindi teacher was teaching us a poem called, ‘मेघ आए’ (rain bearing clouds arrive) written by सर्वेश्वर दयाल सक्सेना (Sarveshwar Dayal Saxena). It was raining during that time, with murky clouds and cool breeze. The best day to read a poem about rain. I loved the poem so much that I just read it. Let me share a few lines with you. 

मेघ आए बड़े बन-ठन के सँवर के।

आगे-आगे नाचती-गाती बयार चली,

दरवाज़े-खिड़कियाँ खुलने लगीं गली-गली।

(Rain bearing clouds arrive with a glow up. 

Along with an ecstatic gentle breeze,

Doors and windows started opening in every street.)

These lines summarize that time of rain for me so beautifully. I have loosely translated these lines, but what matters is what we feel after reading it. This is why I love reading and writing poems. Regardless of language, the emotional power of those few words laced with a rhythm, is far more impactful than a long essay. 

Kindly waiting and serenely debating, is my heart with those feelings. The feelings I feel whenever I’m mesmerised by the rain. The longing I feel whenever I see clouds floating. Floating away, far faraway, to the place I no longer live in. Sometimes, my heart desires to climb up one of those murky clouds, and direct them there. To meet my peace, to feel that serenity. To breathe that love, to need that stillness. “Not a single day goes without thinking about you. Those days we spent together, make me feel, they were almost a clue. Seeing you smile and laugh, caresses my heart. The smiles I see in the distant sky. The laughs I hear when the clouds collide. You’re the one I love. There is just no one like you and that, you know. Bustling within you are sparks of coy. Bustling within me are wishes to fly. The crown atop your head is the pride you wear with grace. That’s the kind of place I would love to visit day by day”.

Longing for where you lived earlier is a usual thing. I would love to go back to my hometown and experience this season of romance there. Yes, Rain is the romantic season and no one can deny it. I still remember how rainy days felt in my hometown. Lucknow, the city of Nawabs has been and will always be my favorite city no matter what. I’m in love with it, and I realised that when I left it. Now, I live in Bhopal, another city of Nawabs, but it just doesn’t feel the same anymore. There’s not that sense of serenity here, that persists in the air that flows in Lucknow. Maybe it’s nostalgia tricking my brain again, but even after living here for a whole year, I just can’t seem to fit in. 

Hauntingly gloomy and magically grand, is the sight of rain, gracing our futile land. The land full of those who’re too quick to stay still. The land of those who just can’t think. Think deeply and even sweetly about this weather, that promises to be a fine time completely. “Always loving the gloomy side of yours, when you’re charmingly haunting but luringly chanting, the chants that allude something close to admiration. Rain’s magical and you can’t change my mind. Just tell me why rain always changes the way I smile? It’s magic to me, ‘cause whenever my face lights up with glee, it’s a show unless it’s the murky clouds for which I’m smiling”. 

Just two days ago, I went out to stroll through the streets of my neighbourhood for some time. You guessed it, it was raining. Not like cats and dogs but definitely like kittens and puppies (LOL!). Just kidding! It was a gentle drizzle, but I was walking with an umbrella ‘cause if there’s one thing I don’t like about rain is getting wet in it. I’m an admirer from afar, not someone with a spark. The spark to prance in the rain. The spark to feel the raindrops on my skin. So, I was walking and walking, with music in my ears. Yes, the best companion of yours, whenever you’re walking and also when it’s raining. It was a trio this time. I was walking, it was raining, and music was playing. Another definition of bliss if you ask me. I was listening to a playlist sent by my childhood friend who’s also a very close friend. Remember Miley from ‘The Sour Memories’? Yes, she’s the one. The songs in it are perfect for this kind of weather. So, thanks to her for making my rainy strolling experience better. 

Affectionately glistening and seemingly listening are the pavements we walk on, after rain makes them shine. The shine that blinds us, with the glow of a lifetime. That time that binds us, when we walk on them during starry nights. “Every night I think of you, my dear murky cloud. Every day I long for you, my dear gentle rain. Every hour I long for your touch, my dear cool breeze. All it takes for you to make me smile is just some time spent with me. Those minutes feel like the latter decades, I hope to spend with you. I can never wish for something else but to be close to you. Close to this feeling, close to rain, close to that murky cloud which’ll take me away, to an enchanted land where I’ll sing for you everyday.”

Farewell.