Ab Ke Saawan: A Chronicle of the new rains

It is 10:00 a.m. and it has been pouring since morning. The BMC failed once again as usual. On a rainy day like this, I had to reach college to buy the admission forms and pay the MTNL bills. Finally, I got an opportunity to rejoice over two things: I am through with my school life and secondly, I am pretty much excited to start commuting once again after a gap of nearly three months.

Rainy days have always meant a piping hot cup of steaming coffee, my music and my musings. The rains always begin as a drizzle at first which slowly expands till the rains finally open up. The combination of it all creates one of those rare, inexplicable moments that makes one feel so alive!!

The rains have a way of putting me into many moods, all at the same time... from a melancholic to a romantic mood and from a "I-don't-wanna-reach-college" to an "I want to sit on the window sill and have a cup of hot coffee and bhajiyas" mood. We've had quite a heat wave in Mumbai for the past couple of months, that this is such a welcome change from that. The rains are detrimental to me of getting any work done. I get distracted very easily, even otherwise but these rains just aggravate my problem. They end up distracting me further.

Maybe it's because the world looks so different in the monsoon... freshly washed of its problems... and possibly also because I'm a die-hard romantic!! To crush the stress I was going through a day before June 25, I was thinking of all the possible romantic comedies and romantic movies since my mom told me that they equal to positive thoughts. Mark my words, it worked. The sudden shift in the weather transports me to another place in my head, where I start to believe that I'm in a hill station enjoying the cold winds.

I usually detest travelling by local trains. Since the weather was so romantic, I decided to come back from college by train. The reason I gave was that it was too confusing to find the bus stop since there are just too many bus stops on the road. The train was late but it wasn't so crowded but I did get sufficient place to stand. So there I was standing near the door, enjoying the breeze and the raindrops falling gently on my face. So by the time I reached my destination, I pounced on eating a hot vadapav.

For us in Mumbai, the monsoons bring pleasure and pain!! While we enjoy the rain, at the back of our minds, we dread flood-like situations which has become a part of our monsoon life now!! But, I'm not going to let these trivial thoughts spoil my current mood because there are so many things I love to do in the rains: Go for long drives; curl up under the sheets and listen to some really good romantic music (with the sound of raindrops falling in the background and a good book to keep me company); a cozy dinner by the window watching the rain lash the city and drinking hot soup while engaging in some great conversation; a walk in the rain, without a care in the world... my list is endless!!

So for my fellow rain lovers, my advice is--get in your car and go for a nice long drive with the person you enjoy being with the most. Since music is such an important part of all these special extra romantic moments, I'm sharing my top picks of the 'must-listen to during the rains playlist':

* Baawra Mann--Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi (Swanand Kirkire) (Shubha Mudgal)

* Mar Jaava--Fashion (Shruti Pathak)

* Rimjhim Rimjhim--1942: A Love Story (Kumar Sanu & Kavita Krishnamurthy)

* Suno Na--Jhankaar Beats (Shaan)

* Pyaar Hua Chupke Se--1942: A Love Story (Kavita Krishnamurthy)

* Aayo Ri Sakhi--Water (Sadhana Sargam & Sukhwinder Singh)

* Rimjhim Gire Saawan--Manzil (Kishore Kumar) (Lata Mangeshkar)

* Bhage Re Mann--Chameli (Sunidhi Chauhan)

* Dekho Na--Fanaa (Sunidhi Chauhan & Sonu Nigam)