The monsoon winds have been blowing all over the country the past few week. But now, the monsoon is truly upon us. News has started pouring in of the havoc the rain has been causing all across. Whether you are someone who enjoys dancing in the rain or absolutely detests it, for the next few months they are going to be another reason why we’ll be spending more time indoors. So when it’s dripping outside or when you’ve run out of ideas on what more can you possibly do at home, why not dip your toes into some seasonal reading?
Rains are an integral part of life in our country so it isn’t surprising at all that they play a huge role in our stories as well. We have some especially curated monsoon reads for you that will transport you to faraway lands while it roars and thunders outside. So pull out the books from your real or digital shelves, flip the pages and let us start a reading storm!
The first book on our monsoon reading list is It Rained All Night by Buddhadeva Bose which was first published in Bengali as Raat Bhorey Brishti. Banned by the then government in Bengal on charges of obscenity, It Rained All Night is a triangular love story in which the rain plays a catalyst. The book soon became a bestseller because of its bold and unapologetic depiction of desire and adultery. The story revolves around the lives of Malati, an attractive middle-class Bengali girl, and her bookish lecturer husband Nayonangshu. After her marriage, Malati finds her husband to be insecure, sexually timid and unable to satisfy her. She discovers passion in the arms of the confident, earthy journalist Jayanto whose love provides her solace from the demands of her wifely duties. Narrated in turns by the wife and the husband, the book makes for a pacy read as it captures the conflict between the couple in a matter-of-fact, unsentimental way. The complexities of human emotions come alive in Clinton B. Seely’s superb translation. If you’re looking for a book that can help you understand what makes or breaks a marriage, this one is for you.
Our second recommendation is Where the Rain Is Born, a collection of poems, short stories and excerpts about Kerala, edited by Anita Nair. The monsoon showers that bring alive ‘God’s Own Country’ form the backdrop for each piece in the anthology. The book includes works written in English as well as those translated from Malayalam. For the uninitiated, it is a great first step into the world of Malayalam literature with pieces by renowned authors such as Vaikom Muhammad Basheer, M.T. Vasudevan Nair and Lalithambika Antharjanam as part of the selection. The wonderful thing about this book is that you can pick it up when it is gloomy outside and undertake a literary journey into the lush landscape of Kerala even though you are stuck at home.
Amitav Ghosh’s The Hungry Tide is the next title on our list, a rich and exotic saga set in the Sundarbans and the archipelago of islands surrounding Calcutta in the Bay of Bengal. Only the truly dispossessed and brave-hearted venture into this world where storms, rain and devouring tides are a part of everyday living and man-eating tigers and crocodiles rule the precarious waters. The arrival of the stubborn American-born Piyali Roy and business-minded Kannai Dutt disturb the shaky balance and set in motion cataclysmic events. A story of love and revolution, and of man’s place in nature, do not miss this one if you like your tales with a historical twist. In fact, if you are feeling adventurous (and smitten by Ghosh’s prose) dive right into the Ibis trilogy: Sea of Poppies, River of Smoke and Flood of Fire. Though not literally focused on the rains, the vast array of characters and storm-tossed adventure tale is sure to provide a distraction if you are suffering due to the gloomy weather (or life) conditions.
The next one on our list is a seminal play by the iconic Mohan Rakesh, Ashadh Ka Ek Din translated into English as One Day in the Season of Rain by Vinay and Aparna Dharwadker. The play received great critical acclaim when it first came out in 1958 and many critics celebrated it as the first modern play in Hindi. The play revolves around the gifted but yet unknown classical Sanskrit poet-playwright Kalidas, torn between his lover and muse, Mallika, and his own ambitions. If he wants his talents to find recognition, he must leave behind his village and set out for the royal palace. Once he has made his choice and found his share of fame, he spurns the woman who believed in him. Much like the separated lovers in his own poem Meghadutam (another wonderful read this season, quite literally the tale of a cloud that acts as a messenger!), he must suffer and grieve for his beloved forever. In fact, Rakesh later revealed that it was his reading of Meghadutam that inspired him to write Ashadh Ka Ek Din.
So are you ready to delve into imaginative realms with the pitter-patter of rain as accompaniment? If you are looking for more rainy day reads, you can check out some of these: Red Earth and Pouring Rain by Vikram Chandra, Rain in the Mountains by Ruskin Bond,
Monsoon Diary by Shoba Narayan, and The Lady and the Monk by Pico Iyer. Find your favourite corner and a cup of warm tea or coffee and let the sound of rain soothe you with its music and charm you with its magic.
The author is an associate commissioning editor at Penguin Random House India
