Rains...

The black roads of Delhi that radiate heat like a car radiator, gather a thin film of water with the first rains, and reflect the sky laden with clouds. The air gathers an aroma, and you’re transported to some other time when it rained similarly. Rains induce an intriguing longing and nostalgia; it’s a time when you want to do everything else but work. You want to celebrate with the tears of heaven that find their way back to the sea through funnels, tunnels, rivers and rivulets. Delhi barely rains, and when it does, it’s worth becoming a peacock. Here is what we feel are the things to do when it pours in Delhi:

Chai, samosa, soup

There’s nothing like having chai, samosa, soup at home and staring out of the window, but if you are venturing out, which one must, then perhaps one must begin with Connaught Place. Driving around the round abouts in rains can be great fun unless they are all jammed. There’s this Tourist Restaurant in YMCA where you can look out into the greenery and rains and whizzing traffic while sipping on your tea. Eevening is the best time here, with the place lit with star-like lights and the glass panes shrouded with moisture on a rainy day. You could head to the Cha Bar in Oxford Bookstore at Barakhamba road and take your pick from a range of teas – masala, herbal, Darjeeling, ayurvedic. They also have huge glass panes that overlooks the outer circle. You can couch around and browse through books while sipping and staring out. Around CP, the other two places that synchronise themselves with the rainy day are the Terrace Garden in Triveni Kala Sangam, and the canteen at max Mueller Bhavan. The terrace garden is on the ground floor itself but the ambience is quite terrace like, with the grassy lawn contoured in levels. The bamboo chairs that overlook the lush greenery add to the whole look. It’s a small place but the variety of food is quite a lot, and quite reasonably priced.
Max Mueller is the pick of the lot, they have a whole range of items like sizzlers, Russian salad; their mint iced tea is a cool refresher.

Long drives

The pitter-patter of the rains, the wiper’s monotonous pendulous movement, or the droplets striking against your face if you’re biking, make you long for longer and longer drives. The best places to drive are the roads that run through the ridges. The stretch between Jhandewalan and Dhaula Kuan is amazing, it’s eight kilometers long and you can drive unabated, starting with the colossal Hanuman statue in whose heart pigeons reside instead of Sit and Ram. There is heavy greenery on both side and the leaf blades shine like pearls all along. Instead of going to Dhaula Kuan, swerve left to the road leading to Maurya Sheraton, and take a left again where you have to take a right for Maurya. Take a left again into the road that goes inside the ridge, and you’ll encounter Begum Sakina’s palace which we’ve written about earlier. Nearby is a mazar in the middle of the forest, and there’s nothing like visiting a mazar in the rains. You could also go to Nizamuddin and get into some trance with rain and qawwali at night. It doesn’t rain so much here, we know, but if it did, what would it be like. Get back to the main road and drive down Mother Teresa Crescent, the five kilometer long swirl where trees and vehicles pass you by, and you think you’re in some timeless zone. You can go back to Jhandewalan from here, and head to the North campus Ridge from Bara Hindu Rao. The roads are narrow here, but empty, and you cross historical monuments like the Mutiny memorial and Peer Ghayab. You could get own and walk on the pathways of the ridge, and then go to Kamla Nagar and sip chai at any of the umpteen stalls. The ridge in South around Vasant Kunj is also amazing. You could drive on the long stretch on Aruna Asaf Ali Marg or the narrow road that leads to Faridabad after Batra hospital. India Gate, of course is needless to mention. After all your drives you can participate in the mass rain dance there. Dance doesn’t really happen, but the mass is always there, you could induce one.

Words and melodies

If you are the indoor variety who admires the sound of the drizzle with the whirr of the fan, you can cuddle up and catch up with your old books. It’s always personal taste, so recommendations are silly, but try out The Little Prince on a rainy day. With the prince traveling to different planets, and he falling in love with a flower, and making his tea on a volcano, you might just like to be transported to worlds of fantasy. Or pick up any Marquez book, his words smell of the earth. Or read a book you read in childhood, rains are very nostalgia inducing. Music is even more personal, someone might like Pink Floyd with rain, and some may like just ghazals, some might like Rain is Falling Chama Cham Cham!! For me, it is 500 miles – Teardrops fell on mama’s note/ When I read the thing she wrote/ We miss you son we love you / Come on home.

Rain and pain are intrinsically intertwined, as are rain and celebration. It’s the time when the skies connect with the earth. So son’t pack yourselves inside your AC offices. Have a stomach ache and go out!