THOSE RAINY DAYS!

By Harshika Singh

During those rainy days, she could hear the sounds of rain since early morning hours. The gush of wind accompanying the droplets of water amidst the green spread of freshness all around was what her typical morning life in those months of rainy school vacation season would be. 

Often the village ladies would be seen arranging themselves in lines, draped in saree colors of pink, green and blue, happily singing songs and planting the little green rice ” ropans” in the fields all around “her” house. The rain would follow but would not deter the ladies from singing songs or doing their work in fields. 

She would very jovially interact with these lady farmers and curiously ask about things related to their work, about their life and much more. The ladies would often share the saga of how often they encountered snakes in the muddy water pool during their plantation work and also talked about the physical pain they faced in night after they return back from literally bending forward for the whole day… doing the “ropan” or sowing. The lady farmers would often hang their little ones on their back and undertake the farming activity with a smile on their face. It would rain heavily in the afternoon hours. Still, she could see these women in the field doing their work diligently ……sometimes holding the black umbrella in one hand.

It would still rain and soon her house would be covered with mud pools of water all around. Little “she” with her elder brother would then bring a bucket of fresh water and collect tiny little fishes from the mud pool into them. Both of them would play while little tadpoles would jump around. Sometimes even the little crab would come along and be part of the play team.

Post meal afternoon nap was often accompanied with the croaking sound of the Frogs all around. The melody of splash of rainwater with the coolness of weather brought solace to the tiny souls then. 

Little Snowy and cute Helen, her pets would then start creating noises to go out and play in open. Soon they would be out, only to cover their paws and their mouth in the brown muddy soil.

Very soon, it would be the time for the schools to re-open after the summer vacations. The rains would however continue …. early morning each day wearing the WHITE school dress with black polished shoes and white socks, she would leave for her bus stand holding an umbrella duly accompanied by her father. Her bus stand was across the road under a “KARANJ” tree. This tree cover would very dearly help her from the rain drizzles. Soon her bus would come and then the next major drill would start… to ensure that no one steps on her shoes … no one who climbs the bus in later bus stops…. wearing the raincoat or carrying the umbrella should come close to her lest her white dress could get muddy and wet. The rains would not allow the girls to have a play time outside the classes. Nevertheless, it gave an opportunity for all the girls to do what they are known for…talk their heart out with their friends and classmates…

Soon she grew up … and joined her college in her city. Rainy season would however appear at the same time of the year and with the same intensity. Now it was only a different campus, different friends, high passion and love for her subject economics and a different micro world. Whenever it would rain in college time, the ” five friends of college ” would now face the rain on the face and visit the cafe beside the college …to drink the much-loved coffee… classes would continue amidst the splash of rain waters …only difference was that in Indian Economy classes then, one would only read theories of how Monsoon affects the Indian Agriculture and role of women farmers in Indian economy ….

she would then smile to herself and feel blessed that she could witness the practicals of all this as a little she in rainy days at her home.

Life moves on and she finds herself in London pursuing her dream subject in the institution of her dreams. Rains however accompanied her …this time …continents and oceans apart from her little city…It would be dark, it would be windy, it would be rainy…But this time Rain taught her to be self-confident …she had to after all walk, catch bus and reach her university amidst the rainy weather trail in a completely different country…After university classes, she would however feel the pangs of home sickness when she heard the same drizzling sound of rain falling on her room’s windowpane.

Back to her country, she got an opportunity to serve the Motherland as an IAS officer. She soon joined her district of training …it was again monsoon …but now she sensed and became a part of the administrative planning for the sowing season… Soon she joined Balaghat district of MP …where rains poured heavily again….so heavily that she was cut off from all known…the roads were cut off due to the large number of breaking of tree branches …there was no electricity …everything was halted for two days in a row.

Later as Collector Mandla, rains visited her district as well…this time …to literally hit the catchment of Maa Narmada with so much force that soon the district was flooding…. Nevertheless, she would often tour the district amidst the rain…after all rain has been an old ally of hers…This time she could however again witness the happiness that Monsoon brings amongst the Indian farmers… The village ladies were again out in the open fields with the little ones tied to their back, singing songs in praise of Rain God, wearing big bamboo leaves hats as umbrellas and happily sowing the fields with the little green rice “ropans’.