We have special feelings attached to every season of the year. Be it the sultry heat of summer, the chilling winds of winter or the spluttering of rain on our window-panes in monsoon. These seasons bring back old memories from yesteryears.
With little showers daily, the monsoons marked its arrival this year too, which I guess everyone was longing for, especially when the mercury was rising up to forty to forty-eight degree Celsius every day. So, the fresh showers not only brought relief to people by bringing the temperatures down but also brought back treasured memories of this lovely season. So, with the first showers of this season, an old memory came floating back, so I decided to put it on paper.
During the first year of my engineering, I don’t remember to have done quite a many things to cherish, apparently apart from my studies but, there’s a faded memory, certainly a story which I would like to share today.
I guess it was August then. Just arrived as a fresher into a world, the stories of which will certainly give a start to a boy was has just finished with schooling. Yes, I am talking about ragging and their consequences in engineering colleges. Being aware of this fact most of us preferred to stay in our rooms instead of loitering around in the corridors, though we had a separate hostel, all to ourselves.
Since, the morning the day had been very hot. By the afternoon the sun was kissing the zenith. After having had our lunch, most of us retired to our rooms for the afternoon nap. I don’t remember what exactly the day was but certainly it was a holiday.
I lay on my bed. Roaring sound rumbled my ear drums. ‘Am I having nightmare in daylight ?’, I thought to myself. Slowly I opened the lids of my penthouse and soon I was on my feet. I made towards my window and through it I saw, thick grey clouds had overcast over the sky and the roaring sound was indeed the sound of thunder. Haphazard light beams flashed across the sky at intervals and in its flash I could see happy faces of my friends peeping out of their windows.
Soon, it started raining cats and dogs. I rushed out of my room to bathe in the serene drops of rain showered by the almighty and enjoyed it thoroughly. Then an idea popped-up in my little head, ‘why not make paper boats, and make them sail down the drain that ran past down my window’. ‘It won’t be fun alone. If I had a competitor then we could certainly have a race between our boats’, I thought.
I stood thudding the door of my next door neighbor, Raiyan with my fist, so that he would open it quickly. Probably he was in deep sleep, for it took him quite some time to open the door. Hearing my plan, Raiyan beamed with joy. He quickly tore open pages from his exercise books, so did I.
With handful paper boats we sat beside the drain, soaking in rain. We cheered every time, the gushing water tossed our boats away. Ran along the length of the drain, just to witness whose boat won. Dipped our hands in the dirty water of the drain, to put back our boats on their course.
On that day we enjoyed and relived our childhood days and treasured memories which would move us to tears when we remember later in our lives.
Today, we all have a fresh new monsoon adding new zeal and enthusiasm to our lives but these fresh drops of rain have brought back moments from yesteryears of this beautiful season which we wish to live once more and indeed this new season has brought back old memories…
Gadhanevaala- The storyteller 