Seasonal list: Monsoon edition

“There comes the storm as it envelops the evening sky!

What have you to be afraid of? And who have you to fear?

Throw open all the gates and listen as the resonant thunder calls your name.”

So goes the poem by Rabrinath Tagore, ওই বুঝি কালবৈশাখী (Oi Bujhi Kalboishakhi), which we are now using to welcome Monsoon Season officially.

The clouds have gathered low and are now rolling across the sky, wild winds whirling around in the darkness, lightning and the resounding boom of thunder following close by. This season holds a different kind of excitement, and it’s so hard to describe unless you also live in a hot climate. How can one know the sweetness of rain if they have never endured endless hazy summer days? When the rains do come, the relief is unlike any other. People don’t know what to do with the happiness they find in that moment of relief, which is why so much art, music and poetry have been made about the monsoons. That is exactly what we will be exploring today friends so brew your favourite cup of tea, put on a vintage Mohammed Rafi song and join me on walk along the rain-soaked streets of a faraway hill station. 🙂

A Shimla Affair by Srishti Chaudhary — Pre-Independence India. Shimla in the 1940s. Three sisters, a revolutionary group, and a murderous conspiracy. I love a good murder mystery, and this one really packs a punch because of the choices the sisters have to make on their own, split between love, duty and revenge. The romance subplot with the British officer (personally) pisses me off because there’s no trope I hate more than oppressor x oppressed, and it kind of dumbed down the power of the book’s message so I’m cutting some points for that. But the overall mood & atmosphere of the book is stunning and perfect for the season.

Rain in the Mountains by Ruskin Bond — A collection of Ruskin Bond essays on life in a small town at the foot of the Himalayas. Reading this book feels like taking a train journey through the misty hills of the Western Ghats or the Nilgiris, or walking up the rain-soaked mountain roads of Mussoorie. Vividly written, lifelike characters, and a few bright sparks of profound clarity here and there on what life in the mountains can teach us about the art of living.

Ghosts of the Silent Hills by Anita Krishnan — With the skies turning moodier, I also get the itch to dive into some horror, be it books or movies. This is such a neat collection of true hauntings and legends from around Shimla, where the author grew up. Reading this feels like warming up next to a cackling fire as your friends share ghost stories while camping, or hanging out with your cousins on the rooftop exchanging spooky tales at your naani’s house.

Saawariya (2007) — Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s adaptation of White Nights, the short story by Fyodor Dostoevsky. It feels like stepping into a vibrant blue Persian miniature. If you want something that captures the dark and mysterious mood of this season, intricate set designs, costumes and choreography, and a beautiful, slightly melancholic soundtrack — this is it. 

Metro In Dino (2025) — Four unconnected storylines, one bustling metro city, lots of rainy sequences and very messy love-lines. I was honestly expecting much more from this because of the original Life in a Metro but for whatever reason, it didn’t hit the spot as well as I would have liked. But the soundtrack is so fresh it sounds like how water looks when pouring down a windowpane.

Fidaa (2017) — If you’re missing pre-2010s Bollywood rom coms, this is the one for you. So many iconic rainy sequences, and a fun pairing of Sai Pallavi as a feisty small town girl who knows her own mind, and Varun Tej, a snobby NRI medical student visiting his parents’ village to boot. Some may call the story cliché but when done well, one man’s cliché is another man’s classic.

Charlie (2015) — I will never forget the first time I watched this movie. It pulls you right into its magic and whimsy like a warm embrace from a long lost friend, and the beauty of some of the scenes will stay with you for life. It’s about Tessa, a woman running away from a lot of things, but most of all herself. She sets off on a mad journey across Southern India to find Charlie, an elusive artist who has no information out there about who he is, except the stories about his eccentricity and good deeds that live on in the memories of anyone who has met him. A road trip movie with lots of interesting characters leading interesting lives, and a very compelling lead who is missing for more than half of the movie, evoked through memories of other people.

Koode (2018) — Man!!! I love quiet movies about processing grief. Joshua, a young man who has been working in the gulf since his teenage years to help support his family, gets a devastating call at work one day. His younger sister Jenny has passed away after spending years battling a congenital disease. He rushes back home to attend the funeral and re-connects with his family after over a decade. The family has a small van, affectionately called an “ambulance” because it was used for Jenny’s hospital trips. One night, Joshua discovers someone sleeping in the back seat and it turns out to be the ghost of Jenny, who urges him to take the van and drive to some places beloved to her as she wants to know how her friends and other loved ones are doing. Thus begins a slightly mad, but wholesome and endearing road trip that helps Joshua grapple with his loss, and also find out more about the life his sister lived.

Y’all already know what’s up. This season, I have Room Jhoom by C*ke Studio Bangla (which they mashed up with Üsküdar’a Gider İken) on repeat.

I have also prepared an entire Spotify playlist and everything in this Monsoon Mixtape post here!

Chiya (Nepalese milk tea)

When I was trekking in Nepal, the weather was pleasant and rainy like this and I always associate this weather with the endless cups of chiya we had back then. So when the weather gets cool and rainy during the monsoons, I find myself wanting to recreate the magic again by following YouTube recipes to brew some chiya and bring a slice of the mountains back home with me. The secret lies in the bay leaf by the way.

Kumro Phuler Bora (Fried pumpkin blossoms)

Rainy weather also calls for something fried—something so many Asian cultures share. Lately we’ve been seeing a lot of pumpkin flowers at the market so our afternoon go-to is making fritters out of them with a simple gram flour batter. And you better deep fry this—no air fryer allowed! Pair this with a bhuna khichuri, what else do you need in life?

Incense

Burning incense smells sooooo good this time of the year with all the windows open and the smell of petrichor and wet leaves rolling in! I love the ones with a sandalwood, cinnamon or mugwort base. Sandalwood and cinnamon for focus on sluggish days, mugwort for relaxation and calm on hectic days.

Watching the sea

I live near the sea so this is relatively easier to do. I just head downstairs and walk to the seaside with my raincoat on, even if the winds are lashing and the rain is pouring. I love staring at the wild waves and seeing the sky change dramatically. No books, no podcasts, no phones, no excess stimulation—just an empty brain. And every now and then some dhikr too to process the awe of what’s in front of me.