Rains!!!

It's about to rain...I can feel it even though I am sitting in a glass cage insulated from the outside world. I can feel the distinct nip in the climate; I can hear the thundering;
I turn back to see the skies darkening.
Will it drizzle? Or will it pour?
I hope for the latter. There's nothing like getting drenched to the skin. And, hoping to cross the danger zone safely without stepping on the crabs clambering out of their homes under the boulders.
Danger zone! That was the name my sister (and I agreed) had thought for the kaccha rasta which was lined by boulders conveniently used as stepping stones during the rains. The bad thing was that the boulders wobbled when we gingerly tried to walk over them and not to mention the crabs and frogs and tadpoles and snakes. I remember I used to mumble prayers to someone sitting up there while I hopped across the boulders; sometimes the wrong judgment leading me to land into the slush.
Once on the other side I bravely continued my journey to the bus stop, sometimes stumbling over stones, trying to wipe off the rain drops from my face.
The school and my classroom presented a very colourful picture because of the raincoats and umbrellas drying out in the verandas. It was fun to walk in the gumboots. Nice, squeaky, squelchy noise they made.
It was fun to sit down on hard benches in the wet uniforms and then getting up again and again to check the patterns my bottom had made. It was nice to feel one droplet making its way down the back or trickling down from the forehead...
It was nice to dream of slurping hot teas and gorging on bhajjis on our return back home.
It was nice to sit on the window sill and watch the rain falling pitter pat or lashing down the roofs.
It was nice to make paper boats and sail them in the puddles.
It was nice to jump up and down in the puddles without bothering about dirty clothes.
It was nice to sit in a comfortable arm chair waiting for the electricity to lighten up my home.
It was nice to spot the glow worms after the rains had stopped.
It was nice to hear the crrrrrrrrrr of the cricket after the rains had stopped.
---
I can hear the mad honking from the roads. Without getting up from my seat I can tell that there is a long jumble of cars and buses and scooters racing to get ahead of each other on the slippery road. The signals are not working adding to the chaos.
I will soon be a part of the chaos.

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