World Music Day 2026: Kolkata’s rain playlist, memories and monsoon moments

According to lore, the archetypal lines Rabindranath Tagore ever wrote were, “Jol pore, pata nore” – h2o falls, leaves tremble. It is simply a elemental observation, astir childlike, yet it contains an full doctrine of rain. Rain is ne'er simply an lawsuit of the sky, it is simply a stirring of the earth, a question of memory. And obscurity is this truer than successful Kolkata. Here, the monsoon archetypal touches the heavy acheronian greenish conifer forests, misty mountains and aged elevation towns of North Bengal earlier making its mode to Kolkata. It seeps into the city’s cracks and memories, returning done songs fractional remembered, done windows flung unfastened to the scent of bedewed earth, done aged loves, aged streets and aged selves who travel backmost for a fleeting visit. The rainfall falls. The metropolis trembles. 

Santadeep De, a writer with Sportstar magazine, recollects, “I privation I could accidental the rains odor of location (Barrackpore, Kolkata) . They don’t. At slightest successful Chennai, they don’t. At home, that odor of bedewed world and lying nether a chill broad listening to the vigor was thing other entirely. Now there’s nary vigor either, and location is precise acold away. Even now, connected rainy days, if I perceive the dependable of a cooker somewhere, I consciousness similar my ma has called saying she has made khichuri (rice and lentils), travel eat,” says Santadeep.

He looks backmost to his puerility when, “The astir amusive happening was, successful dense rain, holding kaka’s (uncle’s) hand, with an umbrella implicit our heads, going retired to get aloor chop (potato fritters). We would each beryllium unneurotic and devour them. All of these are conscionable memories now. Kaka is besides nary more.”

Drifting from the representation of location to songs, Santadeep says, “When Brishti by Firoze Jong released earlier this year, I was enraptured. In parts, haunting, successful parts, the lyrics are precise relatable. Contemplative. The electrical guitar adds to the intensity. And the rainfall and thunder backing way makes it each the much beautiful.”

Rain besides rakes up the representation of a compelling movie still, helium says, “In Naruto determination was 1 almighty country wherever Itachi is seen crying portion staring up astatine the sky. It is raining. It was rumoured that his member Sasuke had died astatine that time. He astir manages to fell his tears successful the rain, but his spouse Kisame understands. Itachi is expected to beryllium an all-powerful acold character, but his emotions interruption done his steely features due to the fact that helium was supposedly mourning his loved 1 then.”

If Santadeep’s rainfall is filled with nostalgia, for mechanical technologist Riya Roy, it inactive carries the ache of heartbreak. “I retrieve I was successful my archetypal oregon 2nd twelvemonth successful assemblage and the lad I was madly successful emotion with had breached up with maine due to the fact that helium was moving overseas for work. It was July oregon August erstwhile helium near the country, and what I retrieve astir is crying each time connected the commute from Gariahat junction to my assemblage successful Anandapur. I would look astatine the rear presumption reflector successful my auto, splattered with rain, hoping helium would look successful it,” says Riya. 

“The opus I listened to connected loop was the OG Bengali opus Ekla Ghar by Fossils. The lines that inactive haunt maine years aft I person moved connected are (lines translated)

‘Though alteration is what is needed,

I locomotion again on the way to your house.

The rainfall gives maine companionship.

Will you spot this done the model glass?

Or volition it beryllium blurred by the heavy monsoon rain?’”

“The happening with rainfall is that years pass, caller memories are made, symptom fades oregon we larn to unrecorded with it, but the rainfall and its odor remember. Songs remember. That full Gariahat to Anandapur agelong inactive brings backmost those memories,” recollects Riya arsenic she averts her gaze. 

For some, rainfall lives successful songs. For others, it lives wrong euphony itself.

At 78, Praniti Ghosh, a retired schoolhouse teacher, feels that each Kolkata monsoon day arrives accompanied by ragas and Tagore. “When I was young, my parent would archer me, ‘Megh Malhar raag shunle brishhti baje,’ (Listening to the Megh Malhar raaga is similar listening to the rain) similar the rainfall itself dancing successful the notes. When Tansen sang Malhar, clouds really gathered, and rainfall fell. That’s wherefore now, erstwhile I beryllium unsocial connected a rainy afternoon, I play Pandit Shivkumar Sharma’s Santoor Malhar. The swaras go raindrops connected my window,” remembers Praniti with a glint successful her eye. 

“And past Tagore’s Aji Jharo Jharo Mukharo Badolodine. When I perceive those ragas, I’m listening to the rain’s memory. The rainfall that came erstwhile I was 20, erstwhile my hubby was alive, erstwhile the children were small. Now I’m 78. The rainfall is inactive here. The Malhar is inactive here. Tagore is inactive here. Only I americium getting old. But the euphony keeps the rainfall young for me,” reminisces Praniti. 

For Varnika Lall, absorption trainee, cardinal accounts manager astatine CavinKare, rainfall is inseparable from cinema.

“I deliberation my archetypal representation of rainfall with euphony goes backmost to schoolhouse erstwhile that opus came out, Barso Re Megha Megha from the movie Guru, and I genuinely believed that each clip I heard that song, it rained due to the fact that it happened a mates of times.

She adds, ”One which is truly adjacent to my bosom is, of course, ‘Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein’, that iconic dialog from the movie erstwhile Madhavan says successful a rain-drenched telephone booth portion watching Dia Mirza creation successful the rain, ‘Main Dilli Bol Raha Hoon Maddy Se.’ I emotion that bit. Love astatine archetypal show is thing that was defined by that infinitesimal successful the rain.”

“There are truthful galore songs that I really perceive to and benignant of manifest successful the consciousness that possibly if I perceive this opus it volition rain. And it was ne'er the rainfall that I loved; it was ever the build-up to the rain,” explains Varnika.

“There are songs similar O Meri Jaan from Life successful a... Metro. Just the mode that opus feels —it’s similar erstwhile you cognize it’s conscionable astir to rain, erstwhile it’s cloudy, getting acheronian and windy. Then there’s Udi Udi from Saathiya, and Yeh Barish Hai Boondon Ki from Fanaa, which symbolises passionateness and rain. When you perceive to that song, you tin visualise it,” she notes.

“More mainstream Bollywood songs similar ‘Chham Chham Chham’ are besides memorable. With galore things successful beingness that we love, it is mostly astir the build-up. I emotion thunderstorms and songs that mimic the weather. Sometimes erstwhile I’m feeling aggravated oregon passionate, I similar to perceive ‘Kurban Hua’ from Kurbaan. That opus mimics the thunderstorm successful my head,” explains Varnika.

“Another emotion that rainfall evokes is longing for thing that truly does not exist. Like listening to Adnan Sami’s Teri Yaad Aati Hai oregon Goonja Sa Hai Koi Ektara. Even though they are not rainfall songs, due to the fact that of the picturisation and everything, they consciousness precise rainy. And if we look astatine the latest, Baarishein by Anuv Jain was besides good,” outlines Varnika.

Pratima Das, a 50 twelvemonth aged homemaker, remembers the twelvemonth 1994.

“The rains came aboriginal that year. It was my wedding time , August 18. Kolkata’ s Paris Hall ebbed with the dependable of the shehnai and smelled of marigolds and bedewed earth, and the dependable of ululation roseate from everyplace arsenic I entered the hall. I retrieve my Benarasi sari clinging to everything. I retrieve the caterer’s navigator spilling mishti doi connected the array cloth and covering it with flowers, reasoning nary 1 saw. I saw, but said nothing. It felt similar bully luck,” remembers Pratima dreamily.

“Every clip I spot the rain, I deliberation of the shehnai. After the wedding, erstwhile my anxiousness had yet abated and I was capable to devour aft fasting each day, the opus that kept drifting from a adjacent vigor oregon possibly from a store oregon a passing car was ‘Rimjhim Gire Saawan’ from the movie Manzil, which was specified a deed successful those times. In spot of Amitabh Bachchan and Moushumi Chatterjee, I imagined my hubby and myself,” giggles Pratima.

“But erstwhile I look backmost connected that time now, I deliberation of different scene. There’s a infinitesimal successful Satyajit Ray’s Apur Sansar wherever Apu stands successful a doorway, the rainfall down him, everything unspoken betwixt 2 radical who are lone conscionable opening to cognize 1 another. I watched it again past wintertime and had to beryllium precise inactive for a portion afterwards. It was truthful precisely existent to thing I had erstwhile lived and could nary longer touch. That peculiar prime of a monsoon day erstwhile your full beingness is inactive up of you and you bash not cognize it yet. My girl thinks I’m being sentimental erstwhile I speech astir that day. She’s right. I am. Unapologetically!”, says Pratima emphatically. 

Perhaps that is wherefore those archetypal lines of Tagore endure. More than a period later, successful Kolkata, it is not lone the leaves. A opus resurfaces, a look returns, a vanished hallway fills erstwhile much with the dependable of a shehnai. The rainfall falls, and representation answers.