through the frosted glass...

The drizzles relentlessly conglomerated with its target, even as I coiled into my comforter (what an apt name that!!), making sure that not a wee bit of my sleepiness is stolen away. It would easily have been 2 degree Celsius or less outside, and with the heater in our hall dumping me, the laws of thermal conductivity worked just a little slow before the heat from my body equalised with the sofa and comforter. Here, it never pours down; neither does it cease to sprinkle – a typical Renton morning. My frame of view resembled a ruled sheet of paper with the silhouettes of the white window blinds lining in front of the frosted glass window. The tiny islands of condensed water droplets on glass, to me, symbolises the pristine purity of this element, the nectar of existence. In this part of the world, the sun, I sometimes wonder, starts its travel only after weather.com confirms that it is going to be a ‘Sunny’ day!!

I have, for some time now, started liking this kind of weather, where there is very little room for outdoor venturing, leave alone adventuring. It makes you confined within the plasters of your room giving you an “opportunity” to retrospect and ponder over the multitudinous aspects of life and the world – “opportunity”, I stated, because we’ve started moving far too away far too fast from the simplistic living and thinking that this race of ours started out with, many thousand years ago.

The bits were streaming fast into the USB port of my Dell as iTunes kept playing that retro parade from my iPod. This is THE setting, if you are one that relishes doing nothing but gaze at the rain with some Kishore in the background and a steaming coffee mug… or a beer mug, rather?? Beauty, after all, lies in the eyes of the be‘er’ holder, isn’t it?

Each of us is like the Musafir ‘Jumping Jack’ Jeetendra, the traveller, drawn by a horse-drawn cart that is life as we stumble across people, places, cultures, experiences and revelations. My journey has been no different. The current phase, as a ‘Rentonvasi’, I was wondering, has brought in an amazingly different shade to my whole existence… Kishore Da aptly sings…

din ne haath thaam kar idhar bithaaliya
raat ne ishaare se udhar bulaaliya

(Musafir Hoon Yaaron – Parichay)

So true… Amazing feel good song. I hummed with the singer as to concur with these lines mujhe chalte jaana hai… bas chalte jaana…

A remarkable aspect of winter rain in regions like Washington, I noticed, is the thin demarcation between liquid and crystal. Even as I was gazing at the discrete drops in the numerous threads of drizzles, my eyes were tricked with the smooth yet rapid transformation of rain to ice. Differentiate between water and ice is not so easy, more so when it is drizzling, and happens even before you realise it – a transformation similar to the one that man experiences when he loses his heart long before he realises it… completely unknowingly...

mujhe tum se mohabbat ho gayi hai
mujhe palkon ki chaav mein rehne do

(Ehsaan Tera Hoga Mujh Par – Junglee)

If you are sitting in the portico with your girl in such a setting, Hindi cinema provides you with so many beautiful songs that can qualify to be heard in the background… keep the volume so low that the song is just heard…

nayi adaa se sataayegi.. tabhi tho chanchal hain tere naina…

(Tere Mere Milan – Abhimaan)

Words that perfectly orchestrated the pleasant effect – an ideal romantic setting for the morning…

Relive the first experience of walking with your loved one with these words…

jahaan pehli baar mile the hum
jis jagah se sangh chale the hum

(Jab Deep Jale Aana - Chitchor)

Every time I listen to the silky waves of Yesudas, I’m blown to smithereens. Awesome!

If you are the ‘bit more energetic and enthusiatic’ type, Rafi pitches in.

har subah kiran ki laale, hain rang tere gaalon ka
har shaam ki chaadar daale, saaya hai tere baalon ka

(Yeh Chand Sa Rohan – Kashmir Ki Kali)

Such a vividly descriptive song wonderfully orchestrated by O.P.Nayyar, this is an all-time favourite. Whenever my dad hums this tune I could always see his youth brimming out as though to pay tribute to his 20s.

As I was eyeing the lone drop about to fall from the roof, my roomie interrupted “Venky, enna paatu idhu kaalangaarthaala… edhaavadhu kuthu paattu podunga!”. I was in no mood to reply…

kuch to log kahenge.. logon ka kaam hain kehna

(Kuch To Log Kehenge – Amar Prem)

Rain is a great companion when you’ve lost something precious… Even if the drops of tears last only as long as a rainfall, the eternity of love goes on like the unyielding process of evaporation and condensation. Lata’s voice is a perfect tribute to anyone who has lost his loved one.

kabhi mujh ko yaad karke jo bahenge tere aansu
to vahin pe rok lenge unhe aake mere aansu

(Tu Jahan Jahan Chalega - Mera Saya)

Not just that… rain accompanies you even when you are lost. It sometimes happens that the numerous drops of water falling outside could still not quench your thirst…

phir bhi mera mann pyaasa

Life is not so good when you are separated from your love. Rain has the magnificent quality of soothing you with its smooth continuous harmony. Research has indicated that flowing water and falling rain are great healers. Each man who lost in love after 1976 would’ve hummed these lines numerous times…

dard bhara yeh geet kahan se
in hoton pe aaye… duur kahin le jaaye

(Mere Naina Sawan Bhadon – Mehbooba)

Playlist ends!