Rain

The door creaked open gently
Like a cat’s paw paving way stealthily
To peep inside for food
I got up to see if it was a whirlwind…
It was drizzle embracing zephyr
Singing a regal neome
With a monophonic harmony.
Water washed heat giving birth to
Petrichor – the best aroma Earth
Ever produced – reminiscense of childhood…

Ah! the combination of time, space and place,
Memory and imagination rendering significance
To rain, its aroma and rainbow!
How the rain seemed a staircase to heaven
And rainbow the light celestial
The sparkling transparent drops sequencing
The yearning to travel to
The skies…..

The gentle wind clasping hands of rain
Took me away in Nirvana from the lounge,
To the Arcadian past
How pakoras (1) with tea were mandatory
To celebrate this consecration
With my parents and siblings around…

Rapt in memories I closed the door
And turning back noticed
My mother lying on the same charpoy (2)
My father used to repose once…
The weather replicates itself
But the temporality does not
Ah the touch of a vanished hand
And the bereftness in the wake of rain.

Notes
Pakoras
Pakoras are one of the most popular fried items in Pakistan. They are made of vegetables e.g., onions, potatoes, egg plants, coriander, green chilli etc. which are dipped into batter and then fried. They are particularly enjoyed during the month of Ramadan and Monsoon rainy days.
Charpoy
Charpoy is a bedstead with a metal or wooden frame covered with ropes (baan) which are weaved through to shape it. It is the most appropriate bed for hotter areas as the air can pass through. Chaar in Urdu mean four and poy means legs, implying a four legs structure that serves as a bedstead.