MONSOON MUSINGS - 6

Three or four days back I was coming to Dehradun from Ghaziabad by a Volvo bus. From the hot weather in Ghaziabad, to escape to cooler climate of Dehradun – actually Salangaon, an unpolluted village about 15 km uphill just off the Mussoori Road – was a pleasant thought.

As the bus stopped for a dinner break at about 7 pm, I overheard the odd conversation by co-passengers. One guy was telling other members of his group, ‘look, I just talked to my brother-in-law. He says it has been raining heavily since afternoon and the roads are all flooded.... I asked him to bring the car to ISBT, the bus terminal’

Well, I have a friend, an auto rickshaw driver who comes to ISBT whenever I call him to pick me up and take me to Salangaon. I reach from Delhi many times at 1 or 2 a.m and he had never disappointed me. But I was wondering if it was raining heavily whether he would be able to come this time.

I called him up and he confirmed that it had been raining very heavy since afternoon and had been raining actually for last two days.

‘Of course I will come sir! Don’t worry! I will be waiting under the flyover.’ His words reassured me.

And from Roorkie onwards throughout till we reached Dehradun, it had been raining.

I reached around 11 pm and true to his words he was there. Defying rains and flooded roads, we reached the school campus safely.

After reaching there, I soon hit the bed having exhausted completely.

Waking up in the morning, the rain was continuing but it was as if I had reached another world. It was so green, so beautiful. The fresh air in the surroundings had already started rejuvenating me.

Most of you must have sung this nursery rhyme in your school days, but I think it is irrelevant.

                Rain, Rain, go away, come again another day,

                Little Johnny wants to play ......

My heart would sing,

                Rain, don’t go away, be here for more days,

Little Johnny wants to play in the rain.....