The most wonderful part of every year for me is without doubt, the monsoon. I love it when it rains. It rains almost everywhere in the world, but rain is most beautiful in Kerala.

My earliest memory of the monsoon is as a kid. When we used to get weekends off, on Saturdays, I would come to the front of the house and sit on the chair three times too big for me and stare outside at the downpour. I would prefer not to be disturbed while doing so, and the maid at home used to be a little concerned. I was probably around 5 (the furthest I can remember). How often do you see a five year old sit on the porch and watch the rain?

It used to be fantastic having to go to school in the rain. It gave me an excuse to get wet. Of course, I used to travel to school by an overcrowded auto rickshaw, but I did my best to get wet all the same. I would leave home wearing a new raincoat (I would invariably lose one every year), or with a new umbrella, either mum or dad escorting me to the front gate. Often I used to have my sister with me in the auto, but there was a period when she shifted schools, so I had to travel alone (ironically, there were about 13 people or so squeezed into the auto).

The auto driver would do his best to make sure that we kids wouldn’t get wet. There was a plastic sheet (blue in color and very dirty I might add) which used to cover both the entrance to auto and the “window”. I used to sit near the window because the sheet wouldn’t completely cover the window because up front the driver (his name was Sebastian) would have to stick his hand out occasionally to indicate the direction he was going to go in.

Of course, the most fun part of going to school was gone. The Physical Education period was gone, when we used to run like mad people on to the field and play a game of cricket. We couldn’t play cricket in the rain, and none of us were football crazy. So we used to sit in class and play indoor games, mainly ones that we made up. There was “chess” (not the real thing, but one that involved a 3 by 3 matrix drawn on a book and a few items such as erasers and sharpeners), Name Place Animal Thing (a fascinating game which increased my knowledge) and word ending (which could be played with normal words or with countries, places, etc). There was also the occasional rebel who used to run around the class and play indoor cricket with a few people he bullied.

Coming back to the topic, I wonder why people hate the rain nowadays. It makes life difficult in a couple of ways. It stops traffic, can cause power cuts (we didn’t have power for three days last year due to a storm) and generally make life hell. But isn’t that the wonderful part of rain, the fact that something as simple as water, can take you away from all these modern inventions and necessities and make you invent new (or recreate old) ways to entertain yourself?

I mean, last year, as I mentioned, we didn’t have power for three days. Terrible storm it was, it happened when I was out. I got wet obviously; I enjoy walking in the rain. Anyway, we didn’t have power, and so going online was ruled out, turning on the TV was ruled out. My source of music was cut off because the computer couldn’t be turned on. So what did I do, I called a friend over and we played scrabble. I practiced on my guitar more frequently. I wrote a couple of poems (about the rain, if you must know). And I also went for walks in the rain.

I love walking in the rain. It refreshes your senses and clears your thoughts. Of course, if you are walking in the rain, I recommend you wear three fourths or shorts. Do not wear jeans, the bottom will get dirty and it will just annoy you throughout your walk. Don’t wear sneakers, floaters are fine and preferably water proof ones. I mean the ones that don’t absorb water.

Walking in the rain in my opinion is the most effective way of relaxing. Especially in West Cochin, when it rains, it practically brings life to a stand still. So there’s very little traffic around, which is a good thing for your walks. No traffic, no noise, more time for thinking. Thinking about what you may ask. Anything, think about anything; The India US Nuclear Deal, the Railway Budget, your past, your future, your present or even why you like walking in the rain. For those who live in Kerala, if you haven’t tried it. Try it this monsoon.

While walking in the rain, you meet an occasional nut who will ask you why you’re walking in the rain and will suggest to a friend or relative that you are mentally unstable for walking in the rain. In Kerala, it is impossible for people to mind their own business. For example, yesterday mum looked out of the window and saw someone walking. The person looked like someone we knew, so mum thought it was him. The man came down the road leading to our place and mum shouts to dad “Just check if it is so and so.” It wasn’t so and so, it was probably some man walking to reduce his weight, something I might suggest to both mum and dad.

Anyway, the people who call you insane don’t worry about them. Just ignore them. They don’t know what they’re missing out on. What is better than walking in the rain is walking immediately after the rain, before the sun comes out? After the rain, there’s a beautiful smell that fills the earth. The smell supposedly attracts snakes, but I don’t care. I’m with the snakes on this one. The smell is heavenly.

For all those people who haven’t witnessed the Kerala Monsoon, I say, come down here and experience it. Its magnificent, it is beautiful. Do nothing other than stare at the rain falling down from the heavens.