Rain...

Rain for my soul
For the parched dust and dry wind and heated minds
For replenishing life-giving water
For rejuvenating the hope that lives on...

Rain for everyone
For those who know not its real significance
And for those who pretend to know
For all who love to get soaked in its fullness, its true bounty
As well as for those who cringe at the drippy disturbance...

Rain for recession
Not only of the economy but of the completeness of life around us
Rain for the restoration of bits and pieces of nature
That must coalesce together to give humans more cause for celebration...

Rain, Rain, Don't Go Away!

Unlike the poem most of us read in the childhood, in which little Johnny asks Rain to go away because he wants to play, I wish that rain would rather stay a bit longer - and splash us all with cool droplets. At least for the parched denizens of Delhi, that would seem to be a pretty desirable thing in the middle of May. Besides, each time it rains, it reminds me of my daughter Saundhi (the name means 'the sweet smell the earth gives off when touched by the first few drops of rain').

But then, it hardly rains in Delhi now. I remember how 10 or 12 years back (another age?), Delhi used to get a decent drenching every monsoon. But for the past few years, the rainy season is just touch-and-go -- it teases more than it eases (the heat). Fortunately, there was some intermittent rain last summer, which made it more bearable than most years.

How I wish for those long spells of rain, when you could enjoy and appreciate the lush green beauty of the city! Just sitting in the balcony and seeing nature's regenerative wet miracle all around you was so refreshing...made even better by an endless supply of pakoras (spicy fried snacks).

Alas...Who stole our rain?