And the monsoon rain baptised the park benches.

[Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi]

To experience the Delhi monsoon at its best is no rocket science. All it takes is living in a VVIP neighbourhood where the drains actually work. Think of the elegant white sarkari bungalows of Lodhi Estate. Sitting snug beside rain-streaked glass windows, overlooking kitchen gardens and staff quarters, the sahib or memsahib may spend a happy afternoon watching the monsoon, sipping Tetley from Good Earth china. Outside this super-privileged enclave, the city may be surrendering to floods and jams, but here the baarish arrives as calmly as a plainspoken Mary Oliver poem; silver ropes of water softly meeting the earth.

For most of us Delhiwale living elsewhere, the monsoon is beautiful as an idea, not as a lived reality. Here are a few places where you might yet savour the rainy month.

Adam Khan’s Tomb, on a Mehrauli hilltop, commands sweeping views of rain falling across the historic region, with the mist-cloaked Qutub Minar rising in the distance. A mithai shop at the base of the hill fries crisp jalebis that make an ideal humsafar for the very short climb.

Metcalfe’s Folly, inside Mehrauli Archaeological Park, too is a rewarding rainy day spot. The stone pavilion offers shelter while framing panoramas of the surrounding ruins.

The pedestrian bridge at Sector 53-54 Rapid Metro station on Gurugram’s Golf Course Road comes into its own after an evening shower. If the clouds luckily begin to clear in that magic hour, the city sky glimmers in shades of purple, pink, orange, red and blue, turning the Golf Course Road skyline into an Impressionist painting.

The British-era railway bridge over the Hindon River in zila Ghaziabad gets total tipsy during a heavy downpour. July rain drums on the agitated Hindon as it rushes out from beneath the red brick bridge, peppering the river’s surface with countless tiny dents. The sound of the falling water echoes off the hollow interiors of the bridge’s six arches. A superfast express clattering across the old bridge intensifies the spectacle.

Aimlessly walking the circular corridors of Connaught Place is a classic Dilli ka monsoon timepass. The colonnades keep you dry while rain lashes the paved plazas outside. The rain forms a thin film of water across the plaza tiles, reflecting CP’s iconic white colonial columns on their surface. These reflections are perfectly aligned with the actual columns, making each column appear elongated.

The beautiful Lodhi Garden becomes more beautiful in a downpour. Especially the park benches. During a spell of heavy rain, many of these benches suddenly become little islands, marooned by shallow pools. After the rain, such pools scattered across the grassy lawns reflect the park’s domed monuments, creating one of the season’s more poetic sights. See photo.