Instead of whining, let's own the monsoons

The West romanticises its winter with 'White Christmas' and activities like skiing built around the snow and chill. West Asia and Europe's Latin countries have their tradition of afternoon siestas built around their hot summer days. South Asia, especially India, has a strong cultural claim to the monsoons. It is, after all, the region's most prominent experience.

Monsoon rains are much more than a seasonal phenomenon - they're a way of life here. Yet, our cultural weather messaging remains diffused. Sure, you can fry an egg on a car bonnet in Gujarat in May. But it sizzles to much crisper perfection in Kuwait. Yes, you can post a photo of yourself on Instagram sipping a brandy next to your fireplace in Delhi's December in Delhi. But, hey, culturally the modern chimney's really a European thing.

Monsoon, on the other hand, is the defining feature of this neck of the woods. We have a monsoon session in Parliament. We have iconic movie scenes set to the monsoon rains.



The Brits, with their knack for marketing all things British, have managed to make even the piddly rain England receives throughout the year a talking point. Heck, we should be using our monsoon to create a global brand.

Okay, so neighbours China and Japan already lead in the manufacture of the highest number of umbrellas in the world. But what about our soft power? The upper latitudes have their snowman. Well, here, we give you our paper boats. You have winter barbecues. We'll give you piping hot onion pakore with masala chai.

Ittar-makers created the 'geeli mitti attar' capturing the heady scent of petrichor in a bottle. Tansen found respite from the after-effects of singing Raag Deepak, which left him with a burning sensation, in the sisters Tana and Riri singing Megh Malhar, which induced torrential rain.


From Raj Kapoor and Nargis under the umbrella in Shree 420, to Gulzar's 'Paani Paani Re' and 'Saawan Raja' rendered by Lata Mangeshkar, great lyric-poets and visionary filmmakers down the line have paid homage to the rains. There's a small film, 'Tum Mile,' starring Soha Ali Khan and Emraan Hashmi, built around the 2005 monsoon floods of Mumbai. And Mira Nair's 2001 comedy drama Monsoon Wedding comes to mind. But any recent blockbuster with a plot, or even a scene. with the monsoon playing a prominent role?

Our stand-ups and influencers are the new Emperor Akbars, curators of conversation in the new world durbar. Any comedy sketch around the monsoon - from our TV reporters seeking the most 'dramatic' spots during gusty winds to announce the 'advent of monsoon from Kerala' to the met department's inability to predict - should go viral. If you've seen any such sketch, let me know.

The most arresting photo of late featuring the monsoon rains was Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata sharing a Raj Kapoor-Nargis-like moment under one red umbrella at the Akshardham Temple premises during their G20 summit visit last September. The image had global resonance.

Admittedly, to turn monsoon into a brand is tough when we also associate it with mayhem, waterlogging, and worse. Let's be honest, 'The Spirit of Mumbai' et al has its limits when pipes are overflowing, potholes need negotiating, cars are floating. Try to market a brand out of all that.


Our hills, however, are unbelievably lush, green in the monsoon. Sites like the Valley of Flowers in Uttarakhand are home to the most beautiful burst of flowerscapes, including the rare wild Himalayan blue poppy. Take that and run with the monsoon. With seasons associated with moods, we can build our own national personality traits around it. Rains are cleansing - they bring about feelings of refreshment, calm, romance, introspection.

But regardless of whether you're wealthy or not, the monsoon evokes - triggers - a range of reactions in all of us. Some instinctively seek shelter. Others embrace the downpour, face turned skyward. Its unpredictability and intensity drive disruption. But from this disruption comes growth, introspection, and renewal. This mirrors our own nature: resilient, adaptive, and continuously evolving.

We are very much a people defined by the unique experience of the monsoons. Let's hero worship this force of nature. Let's own our monsoon.