The (First) Rain

Pluviophile (n): A lover of rain; someone who finds joy and peace of mind during rainy days

Why, yes! I'm a pluviophile.

Summer's already here. No? Well, it sure feels to me like it is because I'm already feeling as sweaty as I do every summer. But, you know, not today… today has been different. From the moment I woke up this morning, all I can think and feel is… Rain! And strangely, because of my constant thoughts about rain, it feels like it is cloudy, breezy and dewy since morning here. (Even though it is not)

Okay now, tell me how many of you like the rain? How many of you love the smell of wet earth? Who loves a hot chai, plate full of mom-made pakoras and a nice 'window view' to gaze upon those beautiful little rain drops on a rainy evening? I know. The answer would be most of you. Well, I love the rain too; however, I love it in my own different way. For instance, I wonder how many of you'd be willing to take a walk under the rain rather than look for cover or use an umbrella. Um, I don't look for cover most days and rather than sitting and eating pakoras, I'd give anything to take a stroll outside in the rain with my close ones (if they are willing to, that is). Else, I imagine myself stand in the balcony of the top floor or terrace of the building with them under an umbrella and just... talk... talk about anything and everything.

Uh, with February 14th just around the corner, you think thoughts like this are meant to crop up in your humble but single narrator's morbidly confused brain, eh? Ah, yes, I am eagerly waiting for the 14th of February, my friend. But it has nothing to do with the Valentine's Day. Instead, my wait is for the return of 'The Walking Dead' Season 6. (Oh, yes! I love that show! And after what happened so far this season, I just cannot wait any longer). Alright, clearly, I am not as romantic as you think I am. Now that we have established that let's continue with what we were discussing here. You must have figured it by now that this post of mine is about 'Rain', eh? Yes, but it is not about any rain. It is only about those 'firsts' that I am obsessed so much about.

The idea to write this blog post popped on a rainy evening, in late August of 2014, while we were driving home after a misadventure. It was raining cats and dogs then and the next song to play on the radio was "Sathiya" from the movie 'Love' and just then... I was spellbound for I looked at those rain drops rolling down the window. I watched those droplets roll down, every time hoping that they would meet, become one, down the line. Some did, while most did not. Every time the drops conjoined, I had a smile on my face. People do this, right? Look at drops dripping down glass windows and think of things... Some like to think that the drops are racing against each other and want to witness which one won while some try to find shapes in those drops, by connecting those rain drops. But I… that night, I just wanted to see those drops unify. I couldn't care less as to who won or what shape they formed. I just wanted them to become one. And when I witnessed them do that, it was beautiful, you know. Every time I saw two drops intersect and become one that night, I wondered if anyone has ever written about something so beautiful (Somebody should have). If not then I'd decided that I would take it up to myself to write something about 'Rain' (Just to satisfy my urge, you see. Let me apologize upfront if this turns out to be a disappointing write up). It is amazing how, sometimes, such small things show you how beautiful life is or can be.

So, here's a picture of the night where it all started.

#3 - A walk under her umbrella

24th December, 2014 – It must have been like any other boring weekday at Phoenix Market City mall (Chennai) for most people… but it wasn't like that for a boy and a girl. This girl, (let's call her 'Cry baby' for convenience sake ;), going forward) and I had decided to meet on 24^th December 2014, here, at Phoenix Market City mall! This was the first time we were going to meet. So, I hoped it to be nothing less than magical. Was it, you ask?! I am getting there.

"I think for the most part if you're really honest with yourself about what you want out of life, life gives it to you" :)

We both were pen-friends (initially). We used to write to each other every day, talk to each other on calls for hours at nights (later) but we never got around meeting each other. Funny thing is, during our initial conversations, I had told her (on multiple occasions) that it would rain when we'd meet for the first time. Yes, I was the dreamy one while she was a realist (read that boring). When asked to imagine how mesmerizing it would be walking together in the rain on our first meet, she'd quickly dismiss me by smiling it off, always. She, once, teased me saying that it was summer then, so I can dream as much as I want but it will not rain and our first meet would not be as movie-like as I was dreaming it to be. And just like she said, that's exactly how things turned out to be on our first date. It had been hot and sunny, all day long!

It was 06:05pm then and we were planning on calling it a day for I had to catch my return bus to Hyderabad while she… she had to reach home before mom-dad could suspect that something's fishy with their beloved daughter. So, we took the escalator downstairs after our movie and late-lunch. When we got out of the mall we were amazed to see how the weather had changed. I looked at her and told that it might rain. She smiled and reminded me that we were leaving already. "It's far-fetched", she said, while walking on the pathway outside the mall leading us outside to the Rickshaw stand. Just then a rain drop fell on my arm. It is here when the magic began!

Soon, it turned into a pitter-patter leaving our beloved cry-baby no option but to take her tiny, pink umbrella out of her handbag. Yes, even after repeatedly asking her not to, she did (Somehow I am never able to control people – Maddy might disagree with that because I always get my way when I'm with him). People ran for cover outside and umbrellas were opened as the rainfall became heavier while I stood there smiling, looking at her. I had my usual 'I-told-you-so' look on my face with the widest grin possible. She nodded her head with a smile, held my hand and asked me if we could spare time for a walk around the mall. My face lit up like the Christmas tree. "Without the umbrella?", I asked surprised. She couldn't do that because it would only raise a series of suspecting questions from her mom-dad. So, I had to be content with what "little" I got. In fact, all I wanted was for it to rain at our first meet. Now that it was happening and we were both walking together under the same umbrella while she held my hand softly, I could not ask for more. I could not bother about anything else. (You know, I am usually the guy who is awkward when it comes to holding hands and so, I was doing my usual thing of being awkward. But eventually, I couldn't care any lesser about what people around us thought about us). Heck! I could not even smell the petrichor emanating from the dry soil that evening. We were both lost. Thanks to those little droplets of rain continuously falling, the roofs of the cars were drumming. And all I could hear was, those droplets on the roofs of the car fade into a musical chime. My arm on one side of the umbrella was getting drenched along with my backpack that I was carrying. She was trying hard to accommodate both of us under her umbrella. But I wasn't. I couldn't care about anything in the world. I just wanted it to rain. I wanted the time to just take a pause. And quite frankly, it did feel like 'Time' had stopped that evening but the rain... oh, no! It just couldn't. It felt like it was raining just for us, just because I had dreamt of it for all those years :) However, like all the good things in life, eventually, the rain stopped too but only after turning those beautiful 20 minutes of our lives into an unforgettable memory to cherish forever.

#2 - Dancing in the Rain!

Rain is like kryptonite for any biker - As much as I love rain, even for me, it is. A word of advice, if someone says that he is not scared of riding in the rain then chances are, more often than not, that he is a liar and a show-off who might learn about his fears quite soon, the hard way. In all these years, I have never seen, read or heard of any biker who goes "Yay! It's raining!" when they see a downpour from the window on the morning of a ride. Deep down every biker is the same and most of us are skeptical of a ride in the rain, having said that, I do not intend to claim that one can/do not enjoy riding in rain. In fact, it is one of the best ways to enjoy motorcycling, undoubtedly. However, amidst all the enjoyment, there is still a scared, cautious nerd, within every biker, somewhere deep, who keeps calculating their every move. So, you might ask how is it that someone can enjoy something while also being worried, deep down, about it, eh? Well, I have learnt that apparently, you can do that.

"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning to dance in the rain."

May 17th 2011 & 26th July 2015

Back in 2011, Maddy and I were returning from our first road trip (Pune to Hyderabad, this time) on his (then) one-month-old Royal Enfield Thunderbird 350 (the first long-ride of his bike). It had been a very hot, long and boring day of ride (until then) because most roads in the state of Maharashtra were not as good as we've expected – Renovation and diversions everywhere. However, after just entering Andhra Pradesh-Karnataka border, things changed! The weather had become pleasant and even before we could realize, it started to rain… heavily. Similarly, in July, 2015 – It rained consistently for about 40-50kms while we were returning on our KTM RC 390 (first long-ride on it) which was an approximately 300kms ride (one way).

On both the occasions, we did not expect it to rain and were completely unprepared for it (On RE Thunderbird we even had luggage with us). However, for some strange reason, on both these instances we rode into the rain without any second thoughts. Um, sometimes, caring reader, even though you know that doing a certain thing is a mistake… you just go ahead and do it anyway. It was just one of those days. :)

Let me tell you, gentle reader, riding in the rain is… well, definitely not always fun. I mean, we have both ridden countless times in the rain. But, riding on the highways in rain is a whole different ball game. Picture this – your brother's riding at speeds of 90-100kmph (!) in the rain while you sit tight with a fake smile as if you don't really care but, in reality, you are shit scared for your life while he is having fun. Every time a car passes you… honking, your fake smile fades a little no matter how hard you try to keep it intact. Now, the worst are the trucks! Every time a truck passes you, the greasy, oily and muddy water from its tires splash out right onto your face and sometimes even into your mouth (Especially, when you try to yell at your brother to slow down. Every freaking time! So, an advice here – Just shut up when something huge passes you closely in the rain. Or, better yet, get a pillion rider helmet!)

But, no matter how painful, distracted or disgusted it leaves you; I bet you will always have that grin on your face when droplets of water drip down your nose or when you listen to the sound of the rain-drops falling on your helmet (Well, eventually, you will end up listening to these rain drops rather than those car horns). Every rain drop might hit you like a tiny metal ball. They might hit you, tak! Takk! They might turn it into a nightmare when it comes to visibility. Sometimes, you are even drenched from head to toe, with strong cold breeze constantly hitting you while cold rain-water seeps its way into your tee-shirt, onto your body and even into your shoes. But, in my humble opinion, even after all this, you will still be able to smile… forgetting all your woes (doesn't really matter if it is for a very brief instant) and you have to understand that this moment, this smile that you have, are proof enough that you have been liberated. Perhaps, only for the briefest of moments may be, but you did. You might not experience such a smile very often in your life, dear reader, so I suggest you enjoy it the most while you can. I for one will cherish these memories for a long really long time.

[A word to the budding bikers (if any reading): In retrospect, if you have the proper gear with you to ride in the rain and if you get your basics right, it is perhaps one of the best things one can ever experience. Alas, we did not have any rain gear to protect us during those two rides. I sincerely suggest you to experience this one but make sure you do that with the gear on to enjoy that feeling even more]

Those interested, stay tuned to this space for the #1. Until then take care!

See you on the other side,

K