Bombay monsoons
There many vivid memories and stories that tie me to the monsoons. Growing up in Bandra, swimming regularly at a Club in Khar and going to a school in Santacruz, I am confident that I experienced monsoon in its full glory just by virtue of growing up in these neighborhoods. Early adult life, living in Cuffe Parade brought a new lense to my monsoon experience. Then came Alibag, interspersed with pockets of being back in Cuffe Parade. Finally when the seas opened up for the RORO to travel across the harbor, and I began a series of multiple trips to Alibag, it seemed like life had come full circle.
Life had come full circle because the only way one can truly appreciate the monsoons in Bombay is being out at sea. The water speaks to you if you are willing to listen. It matches your mood and reflects what you are thinking. It validates, accepts and rejects your fears and joys.
After the sea has dealt with and given you an answer to address your emotions, it sends you into a meditative , almost trance like state. It brings the monkey mind to a focal place where all the thoughts congregate and have the incredible ability to dissipate completely.
When these thoughts are silent, and the mind is indeed empty, the brain proceeds to send a signal to the rest of the body that there is nothing more important than the sea. With all its force, grandeur, it continues to exist. It accepts. It throws out what it does not like. For three to four months in a year, it makes its presence felt.
Over time, for me, the Bombay monsoons have become a master class on how to live with peace, learn and accept the beauty of everything around us.