Rain…. down the memory lane….

19th June 2011, Sunday 11:15 PM……

Here I am, lying down on the cot in my home, and what is it that is occupying my mind right now? The Rain! I hear the sounds of the rain outside my window. It has been raining here continuously for the last two days. And I am lying in my cot and have been thinking about rain and rain coats! And why did I think about raincoats? Because my wife asked me, “When all other dresses are still wet, how come the umbrellas have dried up so fast?” ‘It is because of its material’, I was saying in my mind. Ah! My thoughts are now all about the material of the umbrella! Umbrellas are not soaked with water and so they get dried up soon. So why don’t they make such clothes for rainy season……? They already have… the Raincoats!! But they are worn over the dresses… Why don’t they make something that is like a dress…? And… they already have raincoats that are like dresses – shirts and pants! But still they are worn over the dress. What is the point in thinking about this, anyway???

But my thoughts don’t seem to anchor… They go back to several years down the memory lane… to my childhood… My dad had bought for me and my sister, brand new raincoats. Mine was green in colour and hers was pink and they had flower patterns all over them. The day I got that raincoat, I was so happy and excited! I was just waiting for the rain to arrive, so that I could wear it! Everyday I took the raincoat in my schoolbag. I just wanted it to rain right after the school hours… May be God should listen to our school bell ringing and send the rain!! So that I can proudly wear it and walk outside my class to go to the bus stop, to catch the bus. And I won’t be looking for a shelter, because I have a raincoat! And the rains did not disappoint me. It did come pouring down when I was in the class and I was just expecting it to last longer… and it did… not for just that day, but continued to pour for several days, that our school had to be closed down owing to the heavy rains…

The very next day, it was pouring heavily and my grandparents and my uncle said that the school must be closed. But I wanted to go to school… because I had a raincoat and I wanted to wear it! And I did go to school that day… only to find that the school was closed! But I was very happy that I was wearing the raincoat and I was not even mindful of my shoes that were drenched in the ankle-length of water in our school campus!

There were several other things that I liked when it rained, during my childhood. Because of continuous outpouring the weather would chill down and our house floor would become cold as ice and Grandfather would spread the woollen blanket on the floor – the blanket that my Dad had given, the one which he used when he was in the Army in Sikkim & Dehradun. I always liked the warmth of the blanket and that of my home and more than all the warmth of love of my grandparents! I would sit on the blanket and put my leg on the cold floor, now and then, to feel the chillness. It was fun! My Grandma would make hot bhajis and tea and I loved it! I loved sitting on the woollen blanket, watch the pouring rain from the door and eat the bhaji and drink the tea… I miss those days!

I had totally forgotten about one another thing… the smell that the first rain brings… wow… that is awesome…

And of course, the peak of all was making paper boats and floating them in the flowing water. 

There were also these adventurous things that happened during my teenage days at our home… Once it had rained so heavily that one lake flooded and breached and all the water rushed to the low lying areas and since our house was in such a place, our house was surrounded by water. And it was not stagnant water, but flooding water… We couldn’t step out of our house for two days! The water came upto the doorpost and it did not flow into our house, as it started to subsidise. But water had entered into many houses in our locality and in other places in Trichy, my hometown, water had flooded whole houses and washed away the residents’ belongings. It was very sad, indeed…

As with all, memories recollected, bring back good and bad, joyful and sad moments… Good moments are to be cherished and bad moments are to be forgotten, unless they are meant to teach us some good lesson and principles or motivate us towards a good purpose and course of action!

Above all, rain always brings this verse in my mind, “He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” (Matthew 5:45)

 

Rain drops, rain drops, pouring down outside my window,

Taking me down the memory lane, that are not shallow;

Waters flooding and paper boats floating,

Usual sight when the rain is pouring;

Carrying the umbrella and wearing the raincoat,

And keeping oneself from becoming thoroughly wet;

Rain – bringing joy to a child and concern to a farmer,

But still all keep expecting it even further;

Rain - for some a gain and for some a pain,

But God is gracious in sending it on the sinner and the saint.