Raindrops On My Head

It is the 9th of September- just any normal day. I lay in bed, trying hard to open my eyes, when suddenly i am struck by a sudden inspirtion to get up. I think it is the fear of being detained, but i rarely admit that. I figure, now that I'm already up- much rather take a bath.

So the waterdrops are falling rythmically on my head, in beat with the music playing on my phone. Weirdly enough, I'm still half sleeping. And is it something else i hear? Yes, it's RAINING! I don't know whether to rejoice or lament under the showerhead- isn't that the normal filmi way to show despair?

Anyway, so the raindrops are falling hard and fast. And now they seem to me, in my groggy state- to be dancing in beat with the music too. Fun is in store; but not so fast my friend. I don't know what makes me wear grey pants. Taking an unbrella (yes i found it without having to look for it), i move fast toward the main gate of my dingy South Ex house. To my utter dismay- it IS raining cats and dogs in Delhi, like it is the last time it will ever rain.

I call up Ketaki, hoping we could drive to college together. She doesn't answer, and so i find myself taking up the challege with renewed energy- I Shall Reach College. A godsend Autowalla stands right in front of my house, as if affirming and reinstatin my confidence. His name is Sunil- as i will later find out.

NO, i don't normally care to ask every man who drives me in an auto his name. But it is the Delhi rain and the wonderful warmth it induces in Dilliwallas, leaving us all cold and wet. Bringing out the best and the worst in everyone, and even the city as a whole.

Th trees have a brighter green shining out of them, i see it through the crystal waterdrops. Thank God i wore lenses, i see everything. The first rather amusing sight i see: two girls standing under a tree, turning back with utter shock to look at me. I notice briefly envious glances and then a questioning glance- why do i get an auto and they don't. HAHA, i think. Right now, i am unaware of the fact that this could at once be the most normal and most exciting ride of my life.

The scene on the main road is utter CHAOS. People are clustering under covered spots, like ants displaced from their sand domes. The otherise daunting flyovers come to rescue, and the bus stops are overflowing with people- people of all shapes and sizes, all colours. All carrying even colourful umbrellas. It's like a Yash Johar movie, only here the beauty lies in the ugly.

The roads are full of wheels moving at a snail's pace. Some travel in a hurry, some enjoy the water delightfully. Sunil asks me if he should take the underpass, i tell him OF COURSE. Not realising, just how full of water might that be.

As i emerge victorious, i feel a strange thrill through my body. I get a feeling this ride is going to be fun! I guess it was being part of a crowd, or just the faint ecstacy one feels everytime they defeat death ( from drowning)- but i am ready and raving for more. :)

I see a vegetable walla, running for shade under a tree and another small kid forgetting HIS vegetables and dancing in the rain- keep his vegetables fresh in his own way. Then there is the skinny sardar, careful to keep his blue pag dry. And the shapely woman wearing white, horrified it might turn transparent.

There are people everywhere. Some fighting, some saying thank you. Some stranded, with a broken car. Some not caring if they zoom away splashing water on some one else. I suddenly get an overwhelming feeling of insecurity, the kind that comes with a sudden realisation. I have just realised, that Delhi indeed is the city of its people. The good and the bad. The city is from its people, and the people from the city. And just like it's people, Delhi is most beauiiful and ugliest in the rainy season.

The puddles are ugly to the driver, while thrilling to the new boy. The keechad, er...is not beautiful to any one. The green leaves and the drenched rooftops standing tall. The flooded routes try to win over the indomitable spirit of the Dilli wallas. Fail.

I am repeatedly splashed with water, my derriere now wet enough to not be ignored, oho!

But do i mind? NO, not today. I see the world in a different zone right now, everyone on the edge. People sitting it out in their cars, agitated and happy. It's making me laugh, but i want to cry. I want it to dry up, but i enjoy the wetness. It's the strangest i have felt in a long time.

I reach college, wanting to go back only to take the rollercoaster ride once again. Maybe it's the tremendous feeling similar to survivng a bull-fight, but i feel like i need to pen it all down- The Experience That Is The Delhi Rain.