Celeb share monsoon memories, and the food they love to gorge on during the season

Monsoon is here. The season often brings back fond memories of spending rainy days with family, friends and gorging on good food. Many love the music of rain drops and enjoy drenching in the downpour. Some of us have romantic memories attached to rain as well. Celebrities too walk down memory lane, reminisces the special time spent during monsoon. They also share about their love for monsoon and the food they enjoy during the season.

Somy Ali

I love rain! It’s a sign of rebirth for me. I prefer being at home eating samosas with masala chai and listening to old Hindi film songs when it rains. This is the best way to spend a rainy day.

Rajit Dev

I love the monsoon but not the kind of flooding that happens in Mumbai. If it rains for three hours continuously, everyone is stressed. But yes as a kid I used to love playing in the rain, especially playing football and cricket. Sliding through mud, waiting at a friend’s house till my clothes dried so that mom does not get to know that I was playing in the rain or else I would get a good scolding from her. I love eating bhajiya, garam samosa and corn during nice rainy days.

Delnaaz Irani

It’s my most favourite season of mine. I actually wait for the monsoons every year. But I don’t like when I have to shoot during the monsoon. The water sort of drenches us all and turns everything around into a mess. My fondest memory would be my beautiful trip to Mahabaleshwar with Percy (DJ; her partner) and my family. We usually take trips to Mahabaleshwar or Matheran during monsoon. I love to have a lot of tea, bhajias especially chilli pakodas. Even during shoots, I request the production team to arrange bhajias for us all.

Meera Deosthale

I love monsoons! When we were kids, my friends and I would plan how we would spend our rainy days in advance. We enjoyed going out and playing in the rain, then came back home to eat bhajias made by mom. We also enjoyed watching movies at home and enjoyed the weather. I love how everything cleans up when it rains. I love the smell of the soil when the first drops of rain touch the earth.

Nikkiey Chawla

I was new to Bombay and had started dating an actor friend. I have heard about people going to Lonavala and Khandala during monsoon, but he took me to this beautiful place called Pawna Dam. The rain at the backdrop of mountains and lake looked so beautiful, I still remember that vacation. I love dance in the rain, love the smell of wet spoil and enjoy how much the environment becomes green and beautiful. I love eating besan pakodas, onion bhajiya with spicy red pudina chutney during this season.

Hasan Zaidi

Monsoon has always been very romantic for me. I love the sound of rain, smell of the soil and thunder sort of charges me up. I am very fond of walking in the rain. My wife Christin, when she came from Austria for the first time, and saw me walking in the rain, she clearly said that she does not want to join me and that she does not find it interesting. But I had told her that soon she will also fall in love with this. It’s been 12 years that we are married now and she has already fallen in love with walking in the rain. There have been days when we have walked from Prithvi theatre to Juhu circle.

Saahil Uppal

My fondest memory of the monsoon has to be the days when school would remain closed due to heavy rainfall and water logging. That allowed me to spend the day at home, sleeping for long hours late, watching TV and playing in the rain while enjoying that heavenly smell of wet mud. I remember my mother making pakodas and chai for all of us. I love the environment after a decent downpour, because everything becomes so fresh and happy.

Rushad Rana

I have always been very fond of the rain. I remember doing this rain sequence for my show Hip Hip Hurray. It was a football or basketball match sequence shot in the rain and was shot with artificial water. We all had so much fun getting drenched while shooting this scene. My all time favourite food during monsoon is a nice cup of tea coupled with bhajiyas. Like any other Mumbaikars I am crazy about this combo too. Rain has this very calming and positive effect on me.

Shobhit Johri

Fondest memory of monsoon is long drives to Lonavala from Pune, where I was doing my engineering. We, 4-5 friends, would do it every time it used to start raining. We used to drive straight to Lonavala lake and enjoy garma garam bhuttas. It all becomes green and clean when it rains and that is what I best like about monsoons.

Sneh Binny

Going on road trips during monsoon are the best memories that I have. In fact, I just went on a trip last weekend. I like to explore places which a lot of people don’t know about. What I love about rain is that it makes me calm, relaxes my mind. Just listening to the sound and watching it pour through the car windscreen makes me smile. Pakodas, maggi and chai are the perfect combo during rains.

Sagar Parekh

Oh that sweet, heavenly and sinful smell of the wet mud. Who doesn't love it? This incident is from a few years back, when I was in my boarding school in Mussoorie (St George’s College) and we used to have monthly day outings. It was the start of July and the day was quite pleasant. I remember, my friends and I went out to roam around in the streets, and suddenly clouds covered the sky and it meant our outing was going to be ruined. But unexpectedly it ended up as a heavenly feeling with clouds touching us and the freshness in the air. Although we couldn’t roam around on the streets, we still had steamed corn and momos. The sound of the rain drops and Saiyaan by Kailash Kher would play on the radio. And, trust me when I say this, there is no better feeling than laughing and playing around with your school friends in the rain. No amount of money and or materialistic happiness can even come close to it.

Aly Goni

Monsoon is one of my favourite seasons. I have grown up in Jammu, which has a very beautiful landscape all over. Rain always reminds me of nature and life. I love to go for a long drive during rain. Lonavala is one of my favourite getaways. I love to eat hot masala corn and coffee. Trees and plants look awesome in the rain. Hearing good music while driving perks up my mood.

Jasmin Bhasin

Coming of Monsoon means the end of summer. I remember in Kota (Rajasthan), my hometown, we used to enjoy rain on the roof of our house. Mumbai rains are unpredictable, but it makes the city look green and clean. I like to go to Lonavala and Goa during monsoon. The sight of greenery all around makes me feel positive and happy. A cup of hot tea and some healthy snacks are a good combination for me during rains.

Chandni Soni

My fondest monsoon memory is the long drives with my husband Neeraj Soni. He is crazy about rain. The moment it starts raining I know that it’s the time for long drives and Kishore Kumar songs. I love to have chai and pakodas during the rains. I just love the smell of the soil when it starts to rain.