Welcoming Monsoons

A season of retreat and hibernation in the mountains

Jul 07, 2024

It’s raining like crazy here. The monsoon is in full swing. I was told that from July - September it will rain nonstop here and I am witnessing it now. I am being introduced to an entirely new side of Bir. I think this is one of the most beautiful parts of living close to nature - the seasons and the changes in them are so visible and vibrant. After a sunny and moderately hot summer, monsoons have also brought with them greenery, gloominess and a lot of lovely insects.

Yes, my house is hosting a multitude of insects, most of whom I didn’t even know existed. Initially, their presence used to alarm me and scare me but now I have gotten quite comfortable with them. What worse could happen after already having caught a scorpion on my bed TWICE?

Since it’s raining here all the time, I mostly find myself at home. However, a few days back when the weather opened up a bit I decided to walk towards the nearby stream to spend some time there. I was stunned to find clouds almost hugging the mountain in front of me with the backdrop of the faint sounds from the nearby stream where I was headed. The trees dripped with water droplets from the shower a couple of hours back and with the sun hidden somewhere deep behind the clouds, the colour of the sky was a mix of blues and grays.

Here are some photos of the monsoon and of the short hike to the stream.

Last week in the newsletter I wrote about the creative block I was facing. I tried hard to push through it this week by writing a few short pieces on Instagram. Thanks to the lovely community that I have built there and my dearest friends, their comments gave me a good push to write further.

I also quite ambitiously set intentions in a previous newsletter and while I am not fulfilling all of those, I am definitely doing some work here and there. I have been watching films, practising photography and also going on some short hikes around the village. I hope that with time as I get out of the block I am in, I am able to do more justice to myself and my work.

My Instagram if you wish to read more of my work.

Yesterday evening, I went towards Bir after a very long time. I live in a village perched over a mountain and Bir is 15 mins away on my bike and 1 hour if I walk. Bir, as beautiful as it is really overwhelms me sometimes with the crowd of tourists, cars, line of cafes and what not. So, I prefer to stay in my village. Yesterday I went to Bir to witness the performance of a few amazing artists - Samar Mehdi, Rachanachar and Zeiya Shay. All three of them are my friends and I share the same house compound as Samar and Zeiya. We’re neighbours and friends :)

Although we have lived next to each other since Jan this year, I have never heard their music live on a stage. Being a fan of Samar’s work, I really wanted to listen to him live. Also, Zeiya is an exceptional singer and I wanted to listen to her debut song as well.

That’s both of them in their element! Killing it on stage.

Music is truly so special and such a transcendental experience. I feel privileged to have access to such amazing music and musicians around me. It truly makes life better.

There’s not much happening at my end and I haven’t been able to show up for the writing spaces. I really want to but every cell in my body declines to take that step. As I said in the beginning, the monsoon is casting its hibernation spell on me as well. I hope to be able to rise myself up to take the workshops again. Is there any theme or topic you have in mind for the workshops? Let me know :)

As a feature of all my newsletters, I share one song, one book, one plant-based meal, one film/video that inspired me, and some photographic updates from my life.

Coke Studio Pakistan’s latest release Blockbuster is an absolute banger of a song. The lyrics, the music video, the beats and even the casting in the video are so spot on that I am literally hooked on the song. I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I did.

A very fascinating book that I came across a few days back is The INFJ Writer. As per the MBTI personality test, I am INFJ and to find a book so niche just felt like coming across a gold mine. I have just started reading it but still to have something so suited for me already makes this book a special read.

In last week’s newsletter, I told you guys about my trip to Rajgundha Valley to forage those leaves and a few days back, Didi made this special Himalayan dish called Patrode for me. I had a small serving of this dish with a warm cup of coffee. It was raining outside and the taste was beautiful. It genuinely melted into my mouth. The texture was also quite tender.

I watched and completed Mirzapur Season 3. Quite a thrilling, edge-of-the-seat watching experience with so many twists and turns. I love the writing of the show, especially the development and depth of each character. It feels quite human.