Brunch Mumbai – June 29, 2019

annoyed, themonsoonelicitsa

rainbowofemotions.Andwelet

ourselves beplayedeveryyear.I

attributemuchofthisgullibilityto

thelureofchaiandpakoras,that

seductivesymbolforthegoodlifeas

it waslivedbygenerationsbeforeus.

Afreshly-friedpakoraon

astormyday.Weall haveour

favourites,whetherit is athinly-

slicedpotatobhajiyaor aspiky

onionone.We’veall bittenlustily,

andmistakenly, intoagreenchilli

bhajiya.Beenunderwhelmedby

agobhiorbaiganoffering.But

thetruthof thebatteris,weare a

nationof deep-frieddesires.Isee

in myfuture awell-intentioned

yetutterly neglectedair-fryer

as aconcessionto myrapidly

hardeningarteries.

word forthesmellof earth afterthe

firstrains.There’salittletownin

UttarPradesh,Kannauj,thattries

to capturethatsmellin abottle

of attar. Usingancient distillation

processes,thevillagers hereare

abletopin downtheunpindownable

scent,it is said.If anyone’spassing

bythere, dostopandcatchawhiff.

Merelyonefragranceisn’t

enoughto describetheromanceof

therains.Inthehills,it’samix of

pineandflowers.Bytheocean, a

saltyinfusion.Andin thecity,acrazy

mixof petrol,tar, sweatanddust –a

smellto erasesmells.Childhoodfor

meis stillthesmellof awet raincoat.

Ofsoggybookswrappedin protective

plastic.Ofsquelchyrubber shoes

walkingtowardsabowlof steaming

Maggi. Therainnourishesmemories

as muchasitdoestheearth.

DEEP-FRIED

DESIRES

Likeall romances,evenamonsoon

flirtationhasitsseamyside.Booking

acar to gettoworkbecomesadaily

nightmare. Rainydaytraffic–of

whichyouarepart–canputeven

thebiggest sentimentalistoff

theseason.Thenthereare those

dangerouswalksonthestreet,where

youbegin bytryingto staydryand

endupsimplytryingto stayalive.

Horrors rangefromdeadlymanholes

andleptospirosisontheonehand,

to mucktraps andoilslickson

theother.Frombeingamazedto

RAINY-DAYSCENE

Thenof course,thereare all

therain-reveringcultural

references.FromMiyaTansen’s

RaagMalharto Nargisand

RajKapoorhuddledunderan

umbrella,rainandourcreative

imaginationshareaprimal

bond.Evenin ourovercrowded,

underpreparedcities,millionsof

lovestoriesplayout at railway

stationsandwaterfronts,bus

stopsandvadapavstalls

dayafter rainyday.

Stolenkissesin autos

andgallantlyloaned

jackets in asudden

squall.Pressure-

cooker mealsover theweekend,

whenneighboursareall the

companyyou’llneed–orget.The

tunelesssymphonyoflightning

andthunder.Thehoped-for

shutdownsof officesandschools,

followedbytheferventwishfora

back-on-its-feetcity.

Everyyear in school,the

cheerlessartteacherwould

predictablyaskusto drawa

rainy-dayscene.Myartisticskills

neverwentbeyondstickfigures

in strange, inhumanposes.But

Ialwaysenviedmyclassmates’

relatively sophisticateddrawings.

Invariably,theirpictures would

involvechildrensailingpaper

boats in apuddle.Thisyear,I

planonputtingtheclichéto the

test:Ishallsteermyownpaper

boatintherain.Wait. Iswear I

justheardacuckoocryingout

itsapproval.AndnowI’m

cravingpakoras.

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ROMANCING

THE RAINS

From petrichorto Raag Malhar,the elusive

monsoon’scharmsareendless

By Rehana Munir

J

unehasleftushighanddry.
AsthecricketWorld Cup
dodges puddles,Iwonder
what it wouldtakefor our
unyieldingMumbaiskiesto relent.
Twofrogs haveevenbeenmarried
offinKarnatakato appeasethe
raingods,ithadbeenreporteda
fewweeksago. IthinkI’vejinxed
it thisyear,though,byarrogantly
buyinganartsyumbrellabefore
it wasneeded.Theraingodsare
spitefulandtheysweatusfor their
sport. (Ifyou’rereadingthison
asoakingwetweekend,Iissuea
completeandunequivocalapology
to thedeitiesof precipitation,of
course.Lackofbaarishcanmake
anyoneboorish.)

REMEMBERING
THERAINS
WhileIwaitfortheunusuallydry
spellto end,I’moccupiedbyallsorts
of nostalgicassociations.Before
youcanevenfeeltherain,you
cansmellit. That stifling,almost
suffocatingairlessairbeforethe
firstshowers.Andthenthewhiffof
petrichor–thebeautiful,evocative

AH,AFRESHLY-FRIEDPAKORA ON

ASTORMYDAY! THETRUTH OF THE

BATTERIS, WEAREANATIONOF

DEEP-FRIEDDESIRES...

C NG

rthe

RAIN-REVERINGREFERENCES
Theimage of Nargis and RajKapoorfrom
Shree 420(1955)huddledunderan
umbrella remainsan iconicone

Illustr

ation:

SU

NIL

KUMAR

MALLIK

HUMOUR^7

JUNE 30, 2019