Rain has always aroused the artistic imagination. Vincent van Gogh’s rain fell in sharp, diagonal lines on empty fields; miniaturists in the Mughal and Rajput traditions created dark clouds over lush fields, with Krishna and his companions in them. Gopis danced; and in a meta commentary on personality, René Magritte cast his own bowler-hatted self from the sky Golconda,
The advent of the monsoon may make us all rain-lovers, but perhaps it affects artists more than the rest of us. We asked five artists from across India what the season means to them.
Garima Gupta
Artist and Researcher, Mumbai
I moved to Bombay in late September 2012 and everyone warned me about the brutal October heat. I prepared myself for the worst. But October that year decided to save me; it rained every evening! In the lane bordered by the Portuguese Church at one end and Siddhivinayak at the other, I saw people walking in the rain to their places of worship. Elderly couples holding hands, wet crows hanging upside down from electric wires, lush green rain trees. Had it not been for the monsoon, I might never have learned to love Bombay.
Garima Gupta
Good and bad: I was born in August and the memories of the onset of monsoon around my birthday are deeply etched in my heart. Sometimes I have to pause and remind myself that the unseasonal rains are ruining and damaging the standing crops. But then we have also destroyed all possibilities of happiness as guilt and shame dominate our thoughts. When things go wrong we do not call out to our superiors but instead learn to ruin our only chance of happiness.
From Our conspiratorial hostA series of paintings inspired by the Amazon rainforest after the storm
From 2023 Our conspiratorial host
Favorite things to do on a rainy day: I love Bollywood songs from the 1970s and 80s in which the heroes enjoy the rain. There’s something about that simple joy that captivates me every time.
Orijit Sen
Artist and Graphic Designer, Goa
One of my most vivid memories is of travelling in the now defunct metre-gauge train that ran between Vasco da Gama station and Miraj Junction at the peak of the monsoon. I was standing at the door of my carriage as it crossed a bridge across the gushing Dudhsagar Falls. Even at a short distance, I could feel the fine spray flying off the roaring body. By the time it took to cross the bridge, I was drenched from head to toe!
Orijit Sen, walking in the rain
Latest View: As an artist, I experience the monsoon as a transformative season. The colours of the landscape change dramatically, from ochre, olive and brown to deep, saturated green. The quality of light is indescribable, as it reflects off water bodies or refracts through millions of water droplets hanging from leaves. I find the colour palette in my work is always influenced by these dramatic seasonal changes.
A part of Sen’s Hyderabad series, moth eating tree This photo is a cropped view of a street after rain in Shah Ali Banda in the old city.
Inspirational work: One of my favorite painters is Nainsukh of Guler, who lived in the 18th century. One of his paintings depicts a woman dressed in bright orange stole She is running for shelter as a dark cloud looms overhead. Her clothes are fluttering in the wind as lightning flashes across the sky. The whole composition is full of energy, movement and drama. I had a print of this artwork on my pin up board.
debasish paul
Performance Artist, Varanasi
When the water level rises in Banaras, we go towards the Nepali river. Temple At Tulsi Ghat, which is situated at a great height. You can see the whole valley shaking. When I came to Banaras for my Masters in 2019, the monsoon had just started. On my first evening here, I found two young boys conducting a programme. Hindu ritual of worship at Tulsi Ghat, and I was fascinated by one of them. I went to see her every day for six months; I would watch how her body moved and changed. This became the inspiration for my first performance work, Beyond body and gender,
debasish paul
Beyond body and gender
Favorite things to do on a rainy day: I have a deep passion for Rabindra Sangeet. In Tagore’s songs, such as ‘Aaji Jhorer Raate’, ‘Megher Pore Megh Jomechhe’ and others, I can clearly see my village in Nadia district of West Bengal, where we used to make boats from banana leaves and fish in the streets when the rains came. In the monsoon songs, you feel as if you are flying in the sky and feeling the fragrance of the rain.
Sheetal Mallar
Photographer and Artist, Mumbai
After these hot summers, I find monsoons really romantic. There is a lot of chaos in the city, and this season is cleansing in many ways. We lack public spaces, we don’t have much of a park culture. So places like Carter Road, Bandstand and Worli Seaface are really nice now.
Sheetal Mallar
For photography, monsoon helps you create a mood. The light is more beautiful, the colours of the sky and trees change. Moody, stormy, gloomy feelings – this season is really emotional. But I find myself making a lot of drawings and paintings in the monsoon, for which, unlike when taking photographs, I feel I need to go deeper.
Favorite things to do on a rainy day: I love swimming and long walks in the rain – I have two pairs of gum boots. Songs like Shubha Mudgal’s ‘Ab Ke Sawan’ and Billie Holiday’s ‘Stormy Weather’ sound more melodious. And it’s time to enjoy food and drinks. Bhajiya And Samosas,
Gaurav Ogle
Multidisciplinary Artist, Mumbai
My monsoon memories are like a collection: Standing soaking wet outside Sassanian Bakery in Mumbai, surrounded by the scent of freshly baked goods Salty; We experienced our first rain Raincoat In my hometown Pune; the smell of ironing Rassai (Quilt) at my grandparents house. I love going to Panchgani during the rains and to Berlin during the monsoons.
Gaurav Ogle
Dusk Lake
Favorite things to do on a rainy day: I love Orhan Pamuk’s illustrations Huzoon (sadness), especially the way he talks about winter in his book Istanbul: A City of MemoriesThis is very similar to what the monsoon means to us in this part of the world. I find similar meanings between the monsoon and life – longing, memory, weather, love, identity – in the works of artists like Anju Dodiya, Arshi Ahmadzai, Hashim Badani; in films like Water By Deepa Mehta, Wong Kar-wai in the mood for LoveMira Nair’s Monsoon WeddingThe inherent sadness of Sergei Parajanov Pomegranate colorAnd music by Kumar Gandharva, Blaise Foley, Anika Pyle.”
The author is a Mumbai-based freelance journalist who writes on culture, lifestyle and technology.
