The arrival of the monsoon

One of the events I always used to look forward to in childhood was the arrival of the monsoons. It meant suddenly the hot sun would no longer be seen for days together. Everywhere would be greenery. The walls between houses would turn black and green with the moss growing on it. If your house had a tin sheet roof, you would hear the first "TTUN TTUN TTUN" of the first drops, then would come the sudden "DDHUSSSSSHHHH" of the sudden downpour and when it ended, it would again be a "TTUN TTUN TTUN" dripping drops of the receding rain. The trees would sway and droop under the heavy rain. If there was a strong breeze, you could see the coconut and arecanut palms swinging to the side, almost uprooting themselves. Crows wouldn't be able to fly and would go haphazardly across the sky, flying sideways or backwards, against their will in front of the wind's strong fingers.

The drains would not be able to handle the deluge and overflow onto the road.There would be no difference between the flooded roads and drains. We would have a jolly time, walking in the rain, drowned to our little knees, dragging rubber slippers which would slip off and float away, once in a while. Then we would have to catch it back, before it flowed away. All kinds of wonderful things would float in the swiftly flowing water. In houses, you could see plastic buckets and cooking vessels kept under leaks in the roof. Wandering cows & goats would take shelter in bus shelters and in front of closed shops, alongwith people.
Then the rain would stop, and in the break, children would try to catch small fish and tadpoles in the drains.