Since it is July, it is not scandalous that it rained today and it’s been less than a week since I resigned from a workplace that had started killing me. It rained forcefully, with sprinkles of thunder here and there. As I’ve been sitting idly, and quite intentionally so, for the last few days, the rain offered to prick, prod and bring the spirit of the young girl I once was to the surface. So, I went up the five-floor flight of stairs in absolute darkness (well, there was a power cut) to the terrace and danced in the rain. I walked a little, played a little, and talked a little with the trees and clouds. But most importantly, I relived the times when I was not worried about getting back to my laptop in under 10 minutes, not wondering what I would do, what reasons I would give if someone from work called me while I was away from my phone, or how I would have to compensate for the time I was away from my laptop.
It is a beautiful feeling, to let the rain and waterfalls shower on you incessantly and embrace you. Especially in a world where we have to put our guard up almost all the time, even when we sleep. While walking around the terrace, I noticed the empty neighbouring terraces, maybe not a shocker, since it was a Wednesday afternoon. Just because the clouds were thickening, drooping down, and darkening the sky’s hue, it does not mean that people were not busy watching OTT platforms, working, or studying with their heads down forcefully.
Busyness is the new trend – it’s cool to be busy apparently. But as my heart sank deep into the abyss of the absurdity of today’s lifestyle, for I remembered all the times when I would take my sibling and neighbours’ kids younger than me to play in the rain. I remember when I was in 12th standard, focusing all my energy on my books and exams, even then I would shut my book once in a while when it rained and just let myself immerse in its grace, either from my balcony, terrace, or the road outside the coaching centre where I went for tuitions. The most beautiful part was to see all the terraces filled with people, dancing, and having fun, just like me, without a care for consequences or the world. It is a privilege, I know, the ability to enjoy the rain without the worry of it possibly flooding our homes. But it is a privilege that fewer people are aware of now and even fewer enjoy it, or thank God for it. Isn’t it a waste of the eyes gifted by God to you if you don’t use them to see the world that He meant for you to see?
We spend a lot of time comparing how things used to be and how they have changed over time. People do not use torches anymore. People no longer look forward to evenings when they can sit with neighbours and sip a cup of tea together while gossiping their worries away. It has become a leisure of the old, and anyone younger is lonely in a cubicle-like home in the city of bright lights hogging the space of stars. As I begin to fall into the darkness of these thoughts, I see the two sisters living in a single room on the roof. They are at their door, enjoying the rain and wind from a safe distance. That’s a good way to enjoy too, I think. Because I often talk to them, I convince one of them to come out into the open and play with me, yes, we both are over 25 years of age, but does it matter? After a while, I look around to find children, adults, young men, a child, and his mother on different roofs around my building. The number is half of what I used to see earlier, but even this is enough. At least people still remember how to live and at least the sun still rises in the east.
