Monsoons in Bengaluru

Smell that rain? It’s a smell I absolutely adore! There's something nostalgic about it… reminds me of all the times that I’ve gotten drenched in the rain as a kid, made paper boats and watched them drown along the footpath steams, played lagori in the rain, caught hailstones and eaten them, and most recent memories of drinking hot coffee and eating even hotter bondas in the rain.

In the US, cloudy days were never welcome. The gloomy skies put everyone in a not-so-upbeat mood. But in B’lore, it hardly matters. Life goes on, and the rain has little to do with people’s emotions. If anything it adds frustration to the drivers on the road, but for a lot that is already frustrated, it can’t do much!

Infact, the city has cooled down so much, that this monsoon is a welcome change in the weather. And I was able to throw on a sweater today, which I haven’t been able to use since January! (I know I sound weird, but I’ve accumulated so many warm clothes staying in Michigan, that I get excited when I finally use them again.) The good thing is that it isn’t as severe as Mumbai’s monsoons, so we get to enjoy it and yet, not suffer as much.

So enjoy this monsoon season fellow Bangaloreans! It’s a great time of the year, unless ofcourse you have an event to host, you have to be somewhere on time, or you live in south B’lore where it floods the living daylights out of your homes.

[Lagori is a street game where you throw a ball at a pile of stones.

Bondas are fried stuffed rolls, best when eaten hot and crisp - that’s the best translation I could come up with – sorry.]