The Writer’s Corner | Swing into Sawan: where rain, romance and rituals meet

This is why performing Rudrabhishek of the Shivalinga and fasting on Mondays during Sawan is considered highly auspicious.

When the rains cleanse the earth

As the monsoon arrives, the first showers wash away the dust-laden air, but the water from these early rains isn’t considered clean. It’s the showers that follow which elders recommend for children to play in. The mango season coincides with Sawan, and little ones often develop prickly heat after feasting on the fruit. Dancing in the rain, they’re told, cools the body and eases these eruptions.

India’s lifeblood is rain-fed agriculture, and farmers eagerly await the monsoon to quench the thirst of their fields. Yet, in an odd paradox, our toddlers are taught to sing “Rain, rain, go away, come again another day. Little Johnny wants to play.” The farmer prays for more rain, while his child pleads for it to stop—surely leaving the rain god a little confused!

Writer Priya S Tandon.

Songs, swings and kheer

Everything in Indian culture has its reason and season. Folk songs of Sawan celebrate nature’s beauty and often speak of longing for a beloved. Traditionally, swings are hung in gardens for young couples, adding to the air of romance. With Hariyali Teej around the corner on July 27, women will don colourful attire, celebrate conjugal bliss, and rejoice in the divine union of Shiva and Parvati.

Sawan is our most romantic season, and Indian cinema is replete with melodies dedicated to it. I still recall the nostalgia of childhood evenings filled with songs like Woh Kagaz Ki Kashti, Woh Barish Ka Paani… and Sawan Ka Mahina, Pawan Kare Shor….

Traditionally, people avoid milk and curd during Sawan, as the damp air encourages bacterial growth that can cause indigestion. Curd, in particular, turns sour quickly. Instead, kheer is the preferred way to enjoy dairy. My grandfather used to quip, “Sawan kheer na khaadiya, te kyun jamiyo apradhiya? (If you didn’t have kheer in Sawan, why were you even born, oh guilty mortal?)”

Sawan invites us to revel in nature’s abundance. The many shades of green, blossoms in pink, yellow, red and purple, brooding grey skies, gushing rivers, and sudden rainbows. Every facet of Prakriti celebrates life, and within it, the presence of Shiva is almost tangible.

(Priya S Tandon has a deep interest in Indian mythology and traditions and pens a daily column of inspirational stories.)