Monsoon used to start in June The very first day itself, While we were preparing for school After a cozy summer vacation, With sleepy eyes and heavy hearts I would rummage for books, pens, and pencils. Dim, damp, and dreary weather inside and out Indifferent to boyish anxieties, Accompanied us to and fro. Summer retracted, skies and playgrounds wore a mournful look. Benign summer was always an ally to us, Helping plan everything we wanted to do. Even at noon we were out in the field No sunburn, no dehydration, no heat rashes. A perfect nostalgia for a sentimentalist. I don’t know when things changed. The weather became erratic, like a stream‑of‑consciousness novel. It used to rain in June, but now it is unpredictable. Benign summer has given way to a more penetrating one, Making us wait for a...