The rains have hit Pune, not with a gale yet, but with a drizzle. The weather has become cool, the air is laden with moisture, greenery has multiplied, pools of water have started collecting, and on the hilltops surrounding this city, the clouds have started accumulating, to form that unique monsoon phenomenon. Monsoons bring a lot to the mind. The memory of choked roads in Calcutta. Incessant rains and floods in 1986, when our house became an island in the middle of a sea of water. Rain-soaked journeys to school, including an occasion when the school gates were flooded and we had to wade in with trousers rolled up! Playing football in the rains, in the mud. Listening to Raga Meghamallar on the old LP Record player at home .Further on, torrential rains in my college days, at Mangalore. Impromptu rain dances on the hostel roof. Getting wet on my bike. Rain-swept sea beaches. Further on, monsoon romances. And the not so enjoyable aspects like getting drenched from head to toe ...
