Rainy days have always held a special place in the hearts of the common people of Kerala. From childhood to retirement, these days have been a source of joy, comfort, and nostalgia. Let's take a journey through the different stages of life, exploring how we've cherished and enjoyed rainy days over the years.
Childhood: The Magic of Puddles and Paper Boats
As children, rainy days were nothing short of magical. The moment the first drop of rain hit the parched earth, there was an inexplicable excitement that filled the air. Schools would sometimes declare a half-day, and we'd rush home to make paper boats to float in the freshly formed puddles. The smell of wet soil — petrichor — was the most beautiful fragrance in the world to our young noses.
In Kerala, the monsoon was not just weather. It was an event. A celebration. The whole community would come alive. Grandmothers would make hot bajjis and pazham pori. The sound of rain on tiled roofs was a lullaby that made afternoon naps feel like small adventures.
"The sound of rain on a tiled roof in Kerala is the sound of childhood itself — unhurried, generous, and full of promise."
Youth: Romance, Literature and the Monsoon
In teenage years and early adulthood, the rain took on a different quality. It became romantic, contemplative, poetic. The monsoon was the backdrop for first love, for long bus journeys with fogged-up windows, for evenings reading by candlelight when the power went out.
Malayalam literature has always had a deep relationship with the rain. Our poets wrote about it as a metaphor for longing, for waiting, for the inexhaustible abundance of nature. To grow up in Kerala is to understand instinctively why rain appears in so many of our songs and stories.
Middle Age: The Rain as Reflection
By the time we reach middle age, rainy days become something more contemplative. The rain slows us down. A cup of tea by the window. The sound of children playing outside. Memories surfacing unbidden — of our own childhood, of people we've loved, of places we've been.
I remember sitting in my study one monsoon evening, listening to the rain against the window, realising that the same rain had fallen on my grandfather's roof, on my father's first day of school, on the day I was born. There is a continuity in the rain that connects generations.
Retirement: The Rain as Companion
For those in the evening of their lives, rainy days offer a different kind of gift — permission to rest, to remember, to simply be. There are no deadlines on a rainy day. No urgent errands that can't wait. Just the rain and your thoughts, and perhaps a favourite book or a familiar film.
The rainy season in Kerala is when we return to ourselves. When the frantic pace of modern life slows, just a little, and we are reminded that there is beauty in stillness.
A Final Thought
Whether you're a child making paper boats, a young person dreaming about the future, a professional taking a rare moment of pause, or an elder reflecting on a life well lived — the rain in Kerala speaks to something essential in us. It is memory, emotion, continuity and renewal all at once.
The next time it rains, step outside for a moment. Let the smell of wet earth remind you of who you were, and who you still are.
— Sukesh R Pillai