ROMANCING THE RAIN

As I look through the glass window of my office, I see a flurry of rain outside. The effect is multiplied by the accompanied heavy wind blowing westwards. Some of the weaker trees are bent from their back and almost touching the ground, as if pleading to the rain God for some mercy. They have, unwillingly, shed quite a lot of weight in last few seconds. The stronger trees are standing upright, almost challenging the rain to have a game of wrestling with them. A strong urge to go out grows inside me. But the rain is so heavy that I decide to wait till it subsides. Invariably it does weaken after some time. It’s raining slowly now and I pack my bag to leave the office.

“Let me drop you to your home. You may get wet in the rain.” 

I turn around and find a familiar face in the parking lot. I politely refuse, saying that I would prefer to cycle to my home in the rain. He is somewhat bemused. I start pedaling as I watch him standing there still trying to make sense of it. The moment I get out of the office, I feel small little drops of rain on my face and a strange sensation passes through my body. The heavy, unrelenting wind has now turned into cool breeze, which makes one feel sleepy or dizzy. People are rushing to their destinations as I hear unwanted honking of their vehicles. The road is full of small and big tree leaves, those unfortunate victims of the havoc wrecked by the team of rain and wind. The trees seem to have acquired new green attire as the rain has cleansed those leaves who managed to hang on. Some of the leaves have water droplets on them, clinging to them as a child would cling to her mother in a crowded market. I fondly remember my childhood when I used to watch the old house in front of mine. As the wind blew away the dust and rain washed the roof tiles, it looked as if the new orange roof tiles had just been put on.

 As it is case with the most of the Indian roads, the one which I am going on is also not deprived of potholes. As I watch front-wheel of my bicycle splashing water, I bump into one of the potholes, full of water, so I have a mild jerk. A vehicle just passes by, spraying dirty water on me from the nearby small rain-created pond of water. Immediately I think why it’s needed to have rain on the roads. Why can’t we just have rain in the farms, on the trees, on the houses and of course, on the people who enjoy it? I break down in the laughter the next moment for this stupid thought as I remember following words of Nida Fazli: 

“Barsaat Ka Baadal To Deewana Hai Kya Jaane,

 Kis Raah Se Bachna Hai, Kis Chhat Ko Bhigona hai?”

The rain has stopped and my attention diverts to the air now. It smells like a two month old baby smells. So fresh! I feel like I have been deported to a different planet. Where do you find such fresh air in cities these days? I want to treat my lungs with this air so I take a deep breath and pump some air in. In the process I close my eyes, still pedaling slowly. Suddenly a sound of a horn wakes me up, and I see a car running towards me like a Spanish bull. The motorist manages to stop the car a foot away from me. He looks angry. 

“Are you in hurry to reach the heaven?” inquires he, not gently though, as he rolls down his car window.

“To reach the heaven? I think I am in heaven. Is it going to be better than this?”

“Mad!” He just waves his hand disbelievingly and leaves. 

I think about the madness. If this is called madness, then I am glad I am mad. At the same moment I regret not getting mad before. I declare myself a mad today. They say that all the good things in the world are free; And I don’t want to let this free stuff go, so I take a long road back home just to enjoy the weather more. For the uninitiated, there are other advantages of going out in rain. For one, if you are too lazy to wash your shoes, go out in rain and let it take care of the washing. The rain does the job much better than we humans do! Also you can clean your bicycles/motorcycles if you think Sundays are not meant for cleaning those machines. I take a look at my bicycle – the red and silver body is glowing, the wheels are the best of the black you can see in the world. I realize that I have not changed the gear during the complete journey, but who cares? I was in the top gear for the whole time. After a few moments the mad man reaches to his home, wet outside from rain and inside from joy.