A Monsoon of Joy

A monsoon of joy

Thunder broke out as soon as I started to type this post. I almost got up from the chair to run when I realised I had already done it. Thirty minutes ago. During the last shower spell. I had emptied out my clothesline in the balcony. There was no danger of half dry clothes getting soaked in the rain. So this is what monsoon has become.

When I was a child, the arrival of rains meant playing in the first showers, it meant days off from school, it meant pestering mom and dad for a picnic to Lonavala. As as teen, it gave birth to hundreds of stories in my head. Stories of forbidden romances, of young love, of hopes and dreams. Needless to say, I loved the monsoon back then. Into adulthood, the romanticism of rains wore off. The realities of rains set in. The collapsing infrastructure of our cities did nothing to help. it only accelerated the coming off of the rose tinted glasses I wore. The school holidays turned into work from home days with kiddo home and no maid. Requests for picnic had to be denied due to waterlogging and traffic. Stories of love, hopes and dreams got buried under the chores of drying laundry, stocking up groceries and fixing meals. Add to this, everyone falling sick at the turn of the season. Rains became more of a nuisance than anything else.

And then I started to think. What really has changed in the last two decades? The problems that exist today, existed back then too. They might be a bit more severe today but my annoyance with monsoon now is not the inconvenience it causes on a daily basis. There are ways to get around it. The annoyance is the change in me. It is my inability to look at the clouds and feel happy. It is the clock ticking at the back of my head that prevents me from enjoying petrichor. I used to be dizzy with it’s perfume for hours as a kid. Today, I can barely take a few whiffs before some task buzzes in my head. It is my inability to sit by the window and enjoy the few from my high rise apartment as the clouds hang low, something I would have killed to have as a kid. I looked a little deeper into me and realised that too much of my brain space was filled with things that are of little consequence. I am the one putting more pressure on me than anyone else.

It is totally in my hands to smell the rain and enjoy its fragrance. To run into the showers with m kids and to sip a hot coffee while clouds pass me by. All it will take is a little attitude adjustment and a slightly better planned day so chores do not weigh in on me. Do you feel the same? If you do, join me this monsoon and remember things you loved about the season as a kid. Do those things, and share with me when you do. Together, let us make this a monsoon of joy, not annoyance.


This blog is a part of the #BirthdayBlogTrain hosted by Gunjan Upadhyay and Neha Sharma. Thank you Alpana for introducing me to this blog train. Hop on to the next station – Shubra’s blog for her post on the prompt.

Hosted By :
Neha #growingwithnemit
Gunjan #tuggunmommy

32 thoughts on “A Monsoon of Joy”

  1. The point is with time things change , the way we look and react in any situation changes , since childhood is full of innocence we don’t worry about anything but as a parent or elder we think differently.

  2. Beautiful. If you have read my post, I also poured the similar thoughts. Childhood was the time when I used to wait for rain to come. Then things changed and I started hating it. There was actually no time and effort to realize that beauty exists in the eyes of beholder. I only saw flaws and I found plenty of them. However, in last 4 years, so much has changed and so has changed my affinity with rain. Now I love it back and enjoy fullest with my son.

  3. I can relate to the post, what was supposed to be a moment to enjoy then has become a tiresome moment now. If only we sit back and change our attitude, we can enjoy monsoons again!

  4. Monsoons remain the same. Its our perspective towards life that changes over a period of time. Priorities set in and we often forget to live life the we ought to. Loved your post.

  5. I guess that happens with everyone, we get too overwhelmed with life when we enter that phase of adulthood. But then there are times when we stop & take a look around and realize what all we are missing. Some realize it soon others, maybe, very late. I got this realization quite early in my life and I consider myself lucky for that. Rains fill me with joy just like the way they used to in my childhood.

  6. We grownups make our lives so complicated that we tend to ignore joys that little things bring along. It’s great that you know where things are going wrong. Enjoy monsoons like a kid.

  7. Disadvantages of growing up, especially becoming a mother.
    True said we need to do the things we always loved doing in rains. Be that child again.
    It’s all about how we look at things and we only can change the look and perspective to enjoy it better.

  8. That’s such a lovely post dear, reminded me of my childhood..monsoon brings big smile to my face ..places change but that feeling remain the same

  9. Great Post Ankita. It is so weird how our thoughts change for the same season every few years and how the priorities change, that why I try to make sure I live my childhood again with my son

  10. Loved your post, and you know I was about to write post on same theme like you and then changed it at last moment. I also miss those beautiful days of childhood so much during rain.

  11. Adulting! We lose so much when we lose the child in us. I make it a point to still splash in puddles and get drenched once in a while. My dog helps because she loves splashing in the rain and it is such a joy to watch her unadulterated pleasure!

  12. That’s right, with time and other priorities many of our old likable and enjoyable momenta get converted into a routine things. Now we don’t think of paper boats or jumping in puddles but our cloths will get dirty or how woukd i be able to get the groceries if it continues to rain are our first few thoughts. But as you said it is in our hands to see it this way or the way we want it to.

    #BirthdayBlogTrain #GWNxTNM

  13. Did you just read my thoughts Ankita? As a child I enjoyed monsoon it meant rainy day off, no tuition classes and lazing around. With years and growing responsibilities those moments are now captured by worry for unknown. I now try to live in the moment for sometime before cribbing back about troubles.

    Wonderful post.

  14. My post is due on thursday as a part of the blog train and i have shared a similar thought to the context.. I can so feel u dear…

  15. Lovely blog . Yes we are running with time and forget to enjoy the moment . Rains are part of my childhood . Waiting for them now

  16. This is a beautiful read. We really get so busy in our daily lives that ignore these lovely moments. “All it will take is a little attitude adjustment and a slightly better planned day so chores do not weigh in on me” I noted this..

  17. Yes u r right, with the rave we r running every moment to het tasks done and that too with perfection, we fail to cherish the simple joys of life. Its a great reminder to start enjoying small lil things…

  18. This is a fantastic post. A monsoon diary entry!
    I agree with you, with passing years we have let responsibilities engulf the little joys of life- monsoons being the main ones! I too will try to enjoy the monsoon to the best ability, when it actually begins in Delhi!!

  19. Loved reading your take on our changing attitude towards rains. It is true that we fail to cope up with the situations and forget enjoying small yet important things in life:)
    #BirthdayBlogTrain #GWNxTNM @gungrg @growingwitnemit

  20. Such a lovely and beautiful blog. Infact, I also used to hate rains because it creates ruckus in the city for a longer period but those are the after effects which I realised later. Now, I enjoy that little drizzling for some time before the chaos happen. So yea, this was great. It was totally a relatable one. 🙂

  21. Shubhra Rastogi

    At one point I had started hating rain for the reasons you have stated. But lately, my daughter asked me why I don’t like the rain, while she is always happy to see the showers. That day I changed my perspective and enjoy each moment with her since then.

  22. Wow!! This was lovely and indeed needed. We all tend to focus on things that do not matter and miss the larger pic. Thanks for reminding to sit back and enjoy the rain, think about your childhood and find happiness in smaller things in life.

    1. Grt post Ankita. Jus loved it…Monsoons remain the same. Its our perspective towards life that changes over a period of time. Priorities set in and we often forget to live life …i did connect with watever u wrote.I will take note n really njoy d view outside my window.especially during d rains..I love taking pics n videos of d rains. N sunset..I .use to do that but now its like as u said ,we always run about thinking about the various chores left etc.that v dont njoy life..

Hope you enjoyed reading this post. Let me know your thoughts :)