What Do You Do When It Rains?

The summer this year has been quite challenging in India. Even the usually cool weather of Bangalore has turned hot, and people are eagerly waiting for rain. The kids are having their holidays and one of the common holiday activities during this season is a trip to a hill station. All the famous and well-known hill stations are overcrowded with tourists and hence we decided to visit a lesser-known hill station recently.

Horsley Hills is a small hill station, close to Bangalore, known by the name of the British district collector of that region in 1860’s who made his residence in this quaint little village. It is not that famous as the other hill stations and hence not that crowded. The drive to the top of the hill is quite enchanting with the hair pin bends and the temperature is considerably cooler than the surrounding plains. As the road winds up, you can see giant rock boulders on either side, many of which carry the names of tourists painted with chalk in big letters. As I was driving up, I could see at a distance a boulder which seemed to have multiple lines of text in multi colored letters. Thinking this might be another string of names proclaiming the love for each other, I drove on.

However, as I approached that rock, the letters became clearer. And it was not names, rather it was part of a poem. And that too from one of the most famous poems in English literature. I stopped the car on the side and told my daughter to look outside. She read the lines and recognized them “oh…it was in my English textbook….Stopping by the woods on a snowy evening”. I smiled, taking a little pride in the fact that she was able to recollect the name so quickly. I looked at the rock, standing beside the winding road, within the forest, miles away from nearest civilization, but bearing the 4 lines, written almost a century ago, by someone who lived in a different continent, but that has inspired, motivated, and managed to make many people look at life with a different perspective.

The woods are lovely dark and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

I still remember what my English teacher had told me in school ‘When you read the last two lines, emphasis should be on miles first time and on sleep the next”. Lines that the first prime minister of India kept by his bed. Lines that are so simple yet carry so much meaning. I looked at my daughter and wife, smiled, and continued my journey.

The second incident happened during the next weekend. Friday nights are usually movie nights at home. These days it has become hard to find movies which we three could watch as a family, such is the situation in our entertainment industry. However, that Friday, my wife had chosen a regional language movie which promised to be a family entertainer. The movie is narrated from the perspective of a teenage daughter in the family. When the movie starts the narration is like this “ there are two kinds of people in this world. One are the kind who run and take shelter when it rains, never wanting to get wet or play in the rain. The other kind are the ones who decide to dance and get wet in the rain. Our family has always been taught to run away and find shelter when it rains”.

The movie progresses and at the intermission, an unexpected tragedy befalls that family. Such was the impact of that incident that everyone in the family changes. The second half of the movies starts with these words from the narrators “ For the first time in our lives, our family decided to get wet in the rain”. The second part of the movie is about how the family faces the tragedy and comes out stronger, how they support one another and how the love they have for each other, though not expressed openly, becomes evident.

It is certainly something most of us can relate to. For we too, in most cases, are conditioned to seek shelter from a rain that suddenly starts. It is very rare that we decide to dance in the rain. However, we all may face situations in life when seeking shelter, though it may seem easy, might not be the best way forward. It takes courage, belief and of course the support from your loved ones for us to decide to face the rain.

Two incidents, words written by two different people a century apart, in two different countries, yet conveying messages that are very much valid for all of us. Here is wishing that as you traverse the miles of your life, you get the love, motivation and support to get wet in the rain if needed.

Have a great week ahead.