How pakoras are India’s ultimate monsoon ritual: a look at rainy season food, folklore, and family traditions
The monsoon does something strange to me. You’d think that after all these years, I’d have made peace with it — the way it barges in, changes plans, slows down everything. But no. My relationship with the rains is still as complicated as ever.
I crave the sun. I get restless when it hides. A couple of grey mornings, and it’s as if my body forgets how to be a person. I move more slowly. Work piles up. On some days, even basic tasks feel insurmountable — a familiar onset of seasonal low moods that those close to me have learned to anticipate.
The rainy season in India always comes with a bang. It puts on a show. Always. It’s drama, nostalgia, and chaos; movement and stillness spread across a grey canvas with different shades of green, and colourful umbrellas and raincoats.
One day, you’re wading through knee-deep water in a traffic jam, soaked to the bone, hoping that you reach your destination on time, while also secretly, or not-so-secretly, questioning your life choices. The next, you’re home, cozying up with a cup of chai or a soul-warming soup, romanticising the season, pretending that…