Storms!

A storm hit my city today. The wind screamed and howled. The parched trees swayed like dervishes in ecstasy. The listless earth came to life with fragrances that no perfume can ever replicate.

Wise men say that storms are destructive. They uproot all that is good, built with hard work and love. They can make people homeless. Or worse, they can take away the means of livelihood.

True. All true. But sometimes – nay, at all times – they are a thing of beauty too. Not the gentle loveliness of a summer breeze. The beauty of storms is ferocious. Like fire. Like the fiercest and proudest beasts of the jungle. The lions and the tigers.

And sometimes, they bring intense joy. Like today. And I freaking love them. They make me feel fierce and wild and happy. For no reason. For just being. Sometimes, they make me dream of bigger things. Of grand moments and passions. Of adventures and epics.

They make me want to dance in sheer happiness. They make me want to blend my voice with the wind. They make me want to shed inhibitions and glory in all things impractical. To dance in the rain on the rooftop. To spread my arms and let the driving gale blow me away.

Is it any wonder then, that I love storms?

Songs for the Rains

There is something about rains – it brings out the yearnings for hot pakoras and adrak-wali-chai. It makes its own music – the soft patter of drizzle and the hard drum of a heavy shower on the roof. The deep bass of thunder rolling somewhere deep within the heavens and the streaks of purple brightening the grey skies. And sometimes, the music of the rains needs accompaniment by the songs of our heart:

•  Aapki aankhon mein (Film: Ghar):  When you sit in the balcony, listening to the winds chime as the rain turns an early evening pearly, the strains of this song come floating to you. Beautiful lyrics, sung with so much love. Aapki aankhon mein kuch mehke hue se raaz hain / aapse bhi khoobsurat aapke andaz hai (Your eyes hide some fragrant secrets and more your nature / style is more beautiful than you are – the English translation just doesn’t stir the same feelings). And as the song progresses, you sigh dreamily and it teases a soft smile from you.
• Rimjhim runjhun (Film: 1942 – A Love Story): Lot of people feel that R.D. Burman’s last movie as music director is perhaps one of his best. While the album consists of more famous Ek ladki ko dekha  and Kuch na kaho, when it rains, the song which comes to mind is the equally melodious Rimjhim rimjhim, runjhun runjhun. The song captures the sound of rain and the joy of lovers sharing that music.
• I need you now (Artist: Lady Antebellum): Rain drums hard on the tin roof, venting some unknown passions buried deep in its heart as the world around sleeps or tries to sleep. You stand next to window watching the storm lash the trees, batter the vulnerable buds from the branches. You are both awed and intrigued by this display of raw power, as if someone up there deeply needs something or someone. Lady Antebellum’s beautiful song suits such weather perfectly. The lyric sings of a need that cannot be controlled. It’s a quarter after one, I am alone and I need you now. Said I wouldn’t call but I have lost all control and I need you now. Perfect.
• Bheegi bheegi raton mein  and Kabhi toh nazar milao (Artist: Adnan Sami):  The Pakistani singer’s debut album in India was everything a romantic heart could wish for. Especially the first two songs. Kabhi toh nazar milao – a duet sung by Sami and the inimitable Asha Bhonsle ­– is just right for the rainy afternoons when you are all snug and warm in your bed and a tad restless for some unknown horizon. Bheegi bheegi raton mein is the song for the people who have loved and lost and the rainy night makes the ache a little deeper, a little more al
• Ek ladki bheegi bhaagi si (Film: Chalti ka Naam Gaadi): This old song from a black and white movie is such a timeless blend of mischief and flirtation, wonderful vocals and great picturization. Sample the lyrics: Tan bheega hai, sar geela hai / Uska ka koi pench bhi dheela hai (the second line hints at mental instability of the girl, bedraggled and wet). You have to see the song to understand the warm chemistry between two unlikely stars – goofy Kishore Kumar and the ethereally beautiful Madhubala. The latter plays a rich girl who has had a car breakdown on a rainy night and Kumar the mechanic who is repairing it. It’s funny and it’s endearing.

These are my personal favourites. Would love to hear about yours. Ciao.

On a Rainy Day, from a Sick Bed

When you are down with flu and fever, self pity is the reigning feeling. I am a champion at that.

My day started out like that, then as the medicines began to kick in, I realized something. The sky outside my window was not the brutal blue of scorching Indian summer. It was grey – a colour, that I sometimes do not even think of as colour. And the sky looked beautiful. A portent of thunderstorms and rain.

And the omens were right. It rained and when it rains, it creates enchanting music, drumming on the slope of asbestos sheet that covers my balcony. The three windchimes join in – the earthy tinkle of the clay ones, the joyful clatter of the wooden pipes of the second one and the cheerful clanging of the golden metal that makes up the third. Today was the same.

Then there are the birds. There are four bright yellow birds that hang from my balcony roof. They have bright red, ruby eyes and their bamboo wings have been painted green by some artisan from a far flung village. These birds do not chirp. But they dance and do so beautifully. Especially, when the wind comes to visit them. Like this rainy afternoon.

There is music too – of the human variety. A radio in the neighbourhood playing songs of rain, about rain and in the rain. Some from a childhood that has been left behind. Some from a time not quite in the distant past.

A hot cuppa tea. A steaming plate of Maggi, spiced with a hint of lime juice and green chillies. Family chatting and gossiping. What should the dinner be on this beautiful, rainy day. Opinions differ – something hot and piping for sure. But the chef wants something easy to make. A decision would be taken in due course.

Meanwhile, the rain has stopped. But it has not bid adieu yet. I sure hope so. It made an insufferable day pleasant and self pity, though not completely booted out, is slinking in a corner. So, unlike little Johnny, I want the rain to come again. And brighten my day.