in

Monsoon Dreams: A Story by Dr. Preeti Talwar

Life’s not about waiting for the storm to pass…It’s about learning to dance in the rain.” – Vivian Greene

After finishing the household chores I sat in the balcony gazing at the overcast sky. Within seconds started a heavy downpour. The pitter-patter sound of the raindrops falling on the tin roof was a symphony to my ears. There were puddles in the garden. The smell of petrichor was like ambrosia to my senses. I was transported to a different world.
The Carpenters crooned in the background ” Yesterday Once More”
I was in a reverie dreaming of my childhood
What a welcome change when the parched earth was drenched with rain
The earth shone nice and bright
The raindrops looked like pearls glistening on the leaves
The grass looked verdant green, washed and clean
Flowers in different hues looking like bedecked brides
A splash of colour all around
All of us young carefree schoolgirls
Enjoying walking in the rain
Eating hot corn on the cob, sploshing in the puddles
Floating paper boats in the water
Giggling in glee to see them float
Listening to the melodious sounds of the Cuckoo welcoming the rain
Peacocks doing their rain dance, frogs croaking
Nature creates tapestries in all hues
It is the advent of monsoon creating happiness
Too much of a downpour and the school declares a holiday
A day full of fun, lazing in bed with a novel
A hot cup of coffee and potato wafers
If not outdoors and we would be holed indoors, we played board games
The teens enhanced the mood with romance novels and Pat Boon’s love songs
I dreamt of a whirlwind romance where my beau would sweep me off my feet
The time came, I got hitched and loved the courtship days
The first monsoon, our fingers entwined and eyes locked
With him crooning ” Roses are Red my love, Violets are blue—”
And Suddenly my reverie broken with the shrill sound of the phone ringing
Brought me back to earth, with the maid taking an off bringing an abrupt end to my monsoon dreams
“Lookin’ back on how it was
In years gone by
And the good times that I had
Makes today seem rather sad
So much has changed.”
I wish I could travel back in time and be the carefree young girl again
So full of fun, enjoying every moment of life
With gay abandon as in the days of yore.