Barse Badal

My mental rrrroooowwwwwrrrrr of appreciation (after an experimentally unsatisfactory prrrurrrrrrrrrrr, followed by a more gratifyging grrrrrrrowwwwwlllll) for Arjun Rampal’s rampant sexuality in Neta avtaar wavers as I feel a splash on my collarbone. While this is possibly the warmest day we’ve had, I certainly couldn’t have exerted enough energy to start sweating already!

I feel another drop, and my torrid reverie is replaced by a memory of a rain vs. camel spitting debate comes to fore. The drops get fatter and more frequent, and not a camel in sight. A laugh escapes me, as I walk down New Bond Street, getting wetter with each step, and the left at Conduit welcomes me with a deluge. I debate the wisdom of taking my glasses off, but figure I can squint my way to South Molton and abandon myself to the pelting streaks of rain. Unbidden, my vocal chords give way to a umhmm humm hummmm hi hummmm hummmm aaaand I’m siiiinging in the rain… siiiiinging in the rain, ooh, what a gloooorious feeling, I’m haaapy again... Near zero visibility keeps me from dancing around a lamppost (ensuring I don’t walk into one seems enough of a challenge), and my poor bum is neglected for a head tilted, arms outstretched, lip smacking soak as I chuckle myself to Oxford Street, inadvertently sploshing in and out of puddles, unperturbed by the ever increasing weight of my now sodden jeans.

I think people look at me like I’m touched in the head, and given that the only people I do encounter are ones crowded under awnings, I’m pretty sure I’m right, and the silly smile on my face has nothing to do with it. I turn into Edgware road, and sympathise with Mandakini. Suddenly, all the little men on Edgware road know how to purse their lips and just blow! Interesting what a wet woman can engender in that part of town. The heat generated by the bustle dissolves the droplets trailing down my arms and I even manage not to trail water as I walk into the house and straight into the bathroom, recklessly discarding all clothing and stepping into the shower. Tonight, karma is with me, and the hot water cascades down, sluicing the chill from my skin. Mmmmhmmmm, or do I mean Rrrrrrrrrrroooooowwwwwrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!