Of petrichor, downpours, and moods

 

 
A line from a popular Bangla song goes “mon kharap kora bikel manei megh koreche” (an overcast evening means moods are low).  That’s something my father always felt resonance with.

My father, like millions of others around the world, had Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). What that meant, to him, was that he would feel depressed, low energy, and overall malaise whenever the skies clouded over, the sun hid its bright face, and showers began. I’m glad he lived most of his life in a tropical country, not one of the Nordic lands with months of half-light and weeks of snow at a time.

I, on the contrary, exist on the other end of the spectrum. Nothing smells better to me than petrichor – that first whiff of the monsoons, carried on the wings of drops pattering down on the dry, parched earth after a long and almost unbearable Indian summer. Nothing feels better to me than a moisture-laden breeze, a harbinger of downpours to come soon. And when the showers finally begin, I get so inordinately happy, so ecstatic, that one could be forgiven for believing I was a peacock in some previous life, spreading incredibly coloured plumage and dancing a welcome for the supreme relief of the monsoons.

And though it might, in some way, connect to my physical and emotional problems with heat and sunlight; it is not just post-summer monsoon that makes me happy. Any rain, anywhere, at any time, is good for an instant mood lift. Even in the Pelican Valley, at Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA, even in sub-zero temperatures, rain – while freezing my nose and toes off – just makes me laugh out loud and want to dance like a maniac!

for someone who is most comfortable at 2-10 degrees Celsius, warm clothes are generally things that happen to other people...especially in Kolkata. I miss Dehradun mainly for the cold. But this! This was a bit much even for me! Minus 12 degrees and a bone-chilling wind that just cut through woolens! this is me in 7 layers, 5 of which are winter clothes! 2 sets of socks, 2 caps, and a hoodie!..... whoooo!

— at Pelican Valley Yellowstone

Monsoon should be over by now, in Kolkata, but this much-disliked city of mine has given me a very pleasant surprise today. I woke up to overcast, cloud-laden skies, lovely cool breezes, and an almost constant rain – now heavy, now a drizzle. Needless to say, my inner peacock is totally thrilled!