Season of Memories

Let us admit it, we Indians are absolutely in love with the monsoon. We treat the season Like a parent tracking it's baby's progress and gushing over it's every burp, barf and belch. And not to forget how we dutifully incorporate it in our every conversation. Whether it drizzles or pours,the news channels always have a hour hour special on it and with such huge publicity, it could put even Rakhi Sawant to shame.

I share a love-hate relationship with monsoon. As long as I am safe inside my house getting warm with a hot cuppa tea, I enjoy the rains pattering on the roof. But the moment I have to step out in the same rainfall I was enjoying a few moments back, my mood does a flip and all I do is grumble, complain ad rant. So here is a mixed bag of monsoon related memories in no specific order :

Memory #1
I remember once my school bus had got stuck in muck and tilted to one side but not in a precarious manner. All the kids were howling and someone's father appeared and I remember his dramatic entry too well wherein he yelled for his child and then scooped the girl and went off. Soon a few more parents appeared and the howling subsided as they took home the noisy sources. Only handful of us remained, each glancing hopefully outside only to be disappointed.

Memory #2
Once when I was at my native place, a woman was killed when the roof of a tank got swept away during heavy rains and came flying at her. For the next few months, I always scanned the skies warily during monsoons for a flying tank lid.

Memory #3
We used to create these mini tents with umbrella and play a new version of ghar-ghar.

Memory #4
I have learnt not to fall for all-season sandals because thanks to them I arrived home but only after the ritual of slipping every ten meters when it was raining badly.

Memory #5
Long back when waterproof bags were not a rage, the water managed to seep inside my bag and drown every book within. The happiness I felt knowing that I won't have textbooks to study for a while was out of this world.

Memory #6
I loved getting drenched in the rains. My building friends set a date and if it rained that day we would rush down and dance. Some aunty would get generous and serve us onion bhajiyas. Absolute bliss.

Memory #7
The 26/7 floods saw me shifting goods from the houses on ground floor to my place. The next morning, I was scrubbing utensils in the rain because we had no water supply. But the memory that sticks is having breakfast, lunch and dinner with the building folks all united by a disaster but sharing the common hope of sailing through it and rebuilding our lives.

Memory #8
The rains make you thoughtful. I have lost count of the times when I sit at the window and reminiscence over life. Sometimes they veer towards the negative aspects but the thoughts match the weather appropriately - dark,gloomy and moist.

Memory #9
Last year, we college people created a ruckus asking for a swine-flu holiday. The crowd was ready to bash up the cruel Princy but seeing the crowd, his expressions changed. That was the first time I was part of the demonstration and it would have been more fun if stone-throwing was on the agenda but I was sorely disappointed.

Memory #10
This is the best memory of all. Every time it rains heavily and if I am travelling by train, I scamper towards the door and stand there to let the rain patter on me. Such pleasures I tell you.

Girls jus wanna have fun

My life seems to have stuck in a rut and my daily routine is an endless cycle consisting on mainly two activities- eating and sleeping. While that might seem like a dream schedule for most folks but for me it was a hopeless situation to be in. A trip to Pune did refresh me and help me put on a few pounds, but then I was back to square one in terms of my schedule.

Now one of the few grouses I have about being a girl (or should I say women since I am now in my 20s) is that there are absolutely nil chances of a night out with friends. No amount of convincing works and the end result is that I end up sulking the day later after listening to all the fun other had. So was quite happy when I got an invitation for an all girls night out!

For a few minutes, it's hard to believe that the permission part was so easily handled all thanks to the spanking clean reputation of my friend. Her generous mom fed up chicken fried rice and manchurian which was absolutely finger-licking good and off we were to the privacy of the room.

Now the fun part of this all-gals extravaganza is that we didn't have to think up of any activity and settled for the one which comes easily to us - chatting. I don't even remember the topics now considering we chatted for around five hours. For a person who crashes to bed at ten, it was a miracle I stayed awake for so long.

After discussing about every single person we know, we had inadvertently started talking about marriage and it was with dread that I realised that such thoughts occupied so much time of our living moments. Like my friend rightly said "Now we are talking like twenty-two year old people". Oh did I add that all the talks were not without a generous sprinkling of giggles?

3 am seemed too early a time to sleep for a night out so we fished out Uno cards. Now the problem is I don't know how to play the game (don't you drop open you mouth in horror) so the two of them ganged up against me to the extent that I was finding it bloody hard to hold so many cards in my hand. Finally I learned the ropes of game and managed to beat them.Ha! After a few more games and having stuffed our mouth with chips and Pepsi (it's impossible to imagine life without these artery-choking and teeth-eroding stuff), we forced ourselves to sleep at 5 am. All the time I was hoping someone would walk the empty lane near our window and scare their wits out. hard luck though.

I realised that going out with gals is therapeutic. We are so much surrounded with male friends, that somehow I have to stop myself from blabbering about my latest shopping trip because the responses I get are usually nodding and if I am lucky they might even grunt a few indecipherable words. So I recommend a night out for all those female souls who feel all gagged up.And to help them I have put up a list of all the things which you should never miss on a girlie pajama get-together.

Things to do on a all-gal night out (in no order of importance whatsoever)
1. Chuck the damn diet and stuff yourself.
2. Talk about every thing you bought in the last few months, even if it includes a hairbrush.
3. Crib about at least one person who has been giving you a tough time.
4. Don't fall asleep before 5 am and if someone attempts to suggest hitting the sack before that, react with horrified expressions.
5. Talk like a feminist and conclude that women are way superior than men.
6. Confess to something which draws gasps and other extreme reactions.
7. Snatch each others cellphones and read all the private messages loudly with all the right expressions.
8. Give the night-care ritual of brushing, washing, cleansing, toning, moisturizing and what not a miss and should anyone attempt to do so, accuse them of being a traitor to womanhood.
9. Play cards with rules modified according to convenience.
10. Giggle, giggle and giggle.

All the best gals!