Tag Archives: rains

Quarantine Musings #13

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  • My armour against COVID-19 and the rains!

So finally, the rains have arrived in Mumbai! Of course they were here even before, but what are rains without a ‘heavy rainfall orange/ red alert’ or without news of waterlogging in the city?

I had to go outside yesterday, to buy essentials, amidst the rains. It was raining cats and dogs! It was fun though – to go outside after a long while and even more fun to feel the rain falling on you. I’ve always liked the rains (without the thundering, of course).

But one thing became quite clear to me, rains and face masks don’t go well together; unless you’re carrying an umbrella – which I wasn’t. I had a raincoat on and so my mask was completely drenched with rainwater by the time I returned home.

I haven’t traveled outside a 2 km (about 1.3 miles) radius since mid March due to the lockdown restrictions. When was the last time you traveled a farther distance other than for the usual ‘grocery shopping’?

— Suri

What are Quarantine Musings? Just some random, trivial, light-hearted (or maybe even deep?) thoughts that pass through my mind during these lockdown days.

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Quarantine Musings #11

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Monsoon in Mumbai feels so eerily different this year. Each year after bearing the scorching heat of the summers, we find ourselves longing for the rains. This year the longing phase was so abrupt.

Of course, this may not be the actual onset of the monsoons, it might just be a by-product of the Nisarga cyclone (which I had mentioned in my previous post Quarantine Musings #9 )- which quite conveniently has dodged (and saved us!) away from the city to other parts of the state.

We have been receiving these pre-monsoon showers for a good four days at a stretch. And yet we already have the hashtag #MumbaiRains trending on Twitter!

As local trains aren’t running anymore (except for essentials), in light of the current lockdown guidelines – I wonder whether we would still be hearing news of waterlogging on the railway tracks, like each year?

Monsoons remind us Mumbaikars of bhajiis and vada pavs and garam garam (hot) chaai (tea). This year instead of buying it from those roadside stalls, shops and tapris, we’ll have to savour them by cooking it up inside our own kitchens. Now that should surely be a healthy change!

Wishing you all a Happy Monsoon!

— Suri

What are Quarantine Musings? Just some random, trivial, light-hearted (or maybe even deep?) thoughts that pass through my mind during these lockdown days.

Waiting For a Rainy Day

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Sitting quietly by the windowsill, I was watching the colony of tiny ants, patiently carrying cubes of sugar, lining up in a queue and walking slow but steady. My eyes follow their path down from the windowsill through the curvy pipes and then straight into the grass. The grass is fresh but in need of water. I went inside to grab a jug of water. As I was pouring water into the potted plants, I broke a sweat. I had hardly done any work! Yet the heat of summers along with the humidity in Mumbai is enough to be soaked in sweat within minutes.

I was longing for the rain. We all do it, right? Towards the end of summers, when the degrees soar up insanely, we all know who to wait for. Especially in Mumbai, where winters are dull and summers are hot, our only saviour is the rain. That’s the one thing which we have in abundance!

It’s quiet tonight. Rains have already arrived in the southern parts of India, slowing traversing it’s way upwards. The thought of rain excites me. Of course, I’m not fond of the thunder which follows the rain.

Our relatives from countryside have already notified us about the arrival of rain at their place. It’s so close now. I can totally feel it. It was breezy some time ago but now it’s even more windy. And it’s considerably cooler now. Signs of rain. It’s night time, so I cannot actually see the clouds clearly, but I’m sure it’s cloudy as no star is visible.

I hope it rains tonight. I hope it lowers the temperature.

Dear Rainy Day,

I’m Waiting In Anticipation. Come Soon.

Yours Truly,

Suri

– Suri