When Bollywood Rain Fantasies Meet Monsoon Realities

When the windows started to make a noise out of the blue, I jumped out of bed and ran to close it. A few drops of water hit my arms as I reached out to grab the handle. As a result, my attention shifted to the rainy view outside the shaky window doors. Looking down from the sky to the ground, I saw a new world with greener leaves, falling raindrops, and a couple dancing in the rain on the road. Singing, dancing on the water-filled streets, holding hands, and grinning ear to ear.  

That made me think of my partner, who wasn't present, so I turned around and called his name. Without shutting the window, I went to the kitchen, where I could hear him speaking, and when I got there, I could see him preparing pakode and chai. Just as the adrak chai and besan ke pakode aroma touched my nose, I ran over to hug him.

I hugged him and thought about how I managed to get so lucky, and suddenly the window noise broke my stupor and I jumped out of bed. "Lucky Who?" whispered the universe in my dreams.

Unlike the dreamy Bollywood rainy days I imagined, the rain in my part of the world has its own unique and strange characteristics.

It's so unfair! No seductive rain dance during a traffic jam like Sushmita Sen, who looked drop-dead gorgeous wearing matching saris and blouses in Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya. Not me and none of my friends could ever be Shraddha Kapoor, who magically hooks a step every time it rained in Half Girlfriend. But that's not all. Why doesn't God get that I too deserve someone who can munch on hot pakode with me in the monsoon, just like Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif in Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani? Let alone a lover; can't I even have thoughts of having a lover and dancing in the rain like Kajol and Shahid Kapoor did in DDLJ and Jab We Met, respectively? Is that too much to ask?

When Bollywood Rain Fantasies Meet Monsoon Realities

The reality is far from the glamorous portrayals we see in Bollywood movies. Let's talk about clothing. You simply can't wear those stylish, flowing outfits like the movie characters do because, let's face it, they'll be ruined as soon as you step outside. Even if you manage to wear something nice, you'll have to cover it up with practical raincoats or waterproof jackets that may not be the most fashionable or flattering. And then there's the hair.

Unlike the perfectly styled locks of the actors on screen, no matter how much effort we put into styling it, it ends up looking like a messy nest.

And let's not even get started on makeup. While those movie characters seem to have flawless faces even in the rain, the reality is streaky mascara and smudged eyeliner, right? So, it's better to skip that discussion just like you skip your lengthy nighttime skincare routine these days because discussing it would make this piece as long as a seven-page thesis.

That’s not the end; the reality of the monsoon where I live is, in a word, bizarre. Because where I live, if it continues to rain for more than half an hour, the city gets flooded. And if it rains continuously for a whole day, my city turns into an isolated island. It's filled with challenges and inconveniences, making it difficult to fully embrace and enjoy the rain like the characters on the silver screen. Oh, life! The clash between Bollywood's dreamy monsoons and the real rain is an unexpected plot twist. I can never find any romance in the rain in the city where I live, and nothing seems to make me dislike it less.

This is my way of expressing my monsoon expectations versus reality, like those rants you often see on Instagram reels nowadays. Let me know if you have more things to add to the list or any genuine, heartwarming monsoon stories that, in my 22 years, I've yet to encounter. Your stories might just make me hate the rain a little less.

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