10 heart-touching stories of Mumbai rains that’ll make you smile.

It is no secret that we Mumbaikars have a bittersweet relationship with Mumbai rains. While they sometimes give us beautiful moments, at other times, they wreak havoc on our everyday lives as well. However, whether we have good or bad experiences with the rains, we all will agree they give us memories to cherish. Here are 10 stories about Mumbai rains that will give you all the feels!
Mumbai rains | love | Humans of Bombay

“After 50 years of marriage, you realize that the flowers, the chocolates, and anything materialistic is of least importance. Sure, they make you feel nice but it’s the things that money can’t buy that you value the most. About 30 years ago, he pushed me to do what I love, and his support is the only reason I found my career path as an interior designer. I keep wanting to learn new things -- my latest hobby is to learn bridge, and he keeps smiling at me as I struggle!

He’s a simple soul, we’ve led a simple life and our togetherness is priceless. The biggest force that keeps us together and happy is acceptance. Accept your life partner and know that every human has faults -- and love is embracing your partner’s flaws as your own, without trying to force change. Love is anything but forceful. As for the happiest moment, I believe one can take pleasure in the smallest things... it’s what you choose to make of it. For me, right here, right now, enjoying soup with the man I love in the Mumbai rains is the happiest so far.”

Bombay | Mumbai rains | Humans of Bombay

"We were on a train ride back from college when we began discussing the prospect of moving out and getting a place closer to college. At that point, we were just talking in the air. But then, our third friend mentioned that her granddad had a 1BHK home in Parel that they were renting out. So we spoke to our parents who are right here in Bombay about renting this space—and they agreed!

We’ve actually been like pseudo moms to each other - if one of us is out too late and the other two are at home, we’ll call to check in and ask her when she’s coming home. In the morning, one of us will fill three bottles of water and keep three oranges on the table for the other. The environment is exactly like in a home where we make up for each other - one of us will clean if the other has exams and the same for laundry and buying groceries. It’s been a learning experience because we never thought about paying bills before. Now, we were suddenly paying for electricity and groceries. Also, it’s the best of both worlds because we meet our parents a few times a month and are close enough to our families in that sense, but at the same time, we understand the responsibilities that come with running a home.

“What’s the one experience that has left a mark on you?”

“It was this rainy night when the electricity in our entire neighbourhood blew out and didn’t come back until the next morning. Eventually, our laptop and phone batteries drained, so we borrowed a candle from our neighbour and ate our dabbas in that candlelight, without any technology interrupting us and had an amazing conversation, all thanks to the Mumbai rains! ”

rain | Humans of Bombay

“I like to do chap chap in the rain.”⁣

“Do you like getting wet in the rain?”⁣

“Yes, but Mumma forces me to wear a raincoat…so when she’s not looking, I take it off and run to do chap chap!”

Mumbai rains | rain | Humans of Bombay

“It was raining heavily that November night when I wasn’t getting a rickshaw outside the railway station. There were many others, one of which was a man standing around 10 meters away, looking at me helplessly. When I finally got a rickshaw, I turned to him and asked where he was going. He replied, ‘Veera Road’, to which I said - ‘Well, in that case, you drop me off first’ and asked him to join me.

At this point in my life, I was broke and was praying to God to send someone in my life who I could start a business with. The ensuing conversation in the rickshaw was basic - we exchanged names, phone numbers, and he dropped me off. Eventually, we became friends and I realized that he, too, was unhappy at his job. That’s when one evening we put together a business plan and became partners. We were immensely successful, even expanding internationally to London. It was also through this man that I was introduced to the love of my life a few months later -- all from a chance encounter. Serendipity, as they call it. After that day, I’ve paid closer attention to the little incidents and realized that there are countless serendipities all around us...if we were only open to their existence and gave them a chance.”

Mumbai rains | Humans of Bombay | happiness

“People advocate too many negative things. If we focus on just spreading happiness to whoever we can - we’ll actually start making a difference, bit by bit.”

“When was the last time you spread happiness in that way?”

“Right now. Aren’t you happy I’m standing here in the rain because it matters to you? It’s small, but it makes a difference to you, right? We try doing things in these grand gestures, but in reality, it’s the little things that spread the most happiness.”

Mumbai rains | rain | city of dreams | Humans of Bombay

“People complain about this city all the time. They complain about the Mumbai rains, the traffic, the competition, and the rat race. They complain about how there are so many people but not enough opportunities and how not everyone can climb the ladder and be successful. But I have a different perspective. I’ve had to hustle for a long time, but this city has let my passion become my career, one that lets me earn enough. So even though yesterday I had to trudge through knee-deep waters just to get home, even though I had to push my way through a crowd and wait for hours to get a rickshaw home, it doesn’t matter. This city has given me more than I could’ve ever asked for. So if in exchange it wants a little bit of my time and a little bit of commotion in the rain, I’m okay with it. It’s the city of dreams for a reason...you have to give something up to get something in return. It’s just the rule of life!

Bombay | Mumbai rains | rain | date

"I had been in Bangalore for a few years before I moved back to Bombay. When I got here, I didn’t have as many friends, so I downloaded Tinder, hoping to meet new people. I came across his profile and the first thing I noticed was that he had the lyrics of Smooth Criminal as his bio. I swiped right without really giving it much thought. We matched, started chatting and the conversation just seemed to flow. He never once felt like a stranger. After 4 or 5 days of chatting about Beef Fry and South Indian Food, he called one evening and asked if I was free to meet him, and I instantly agreed. The funny thing is, we were both talking to other people as well. Had he not called that night, maybe things would have been different.”

“When I went to see her the first time, it was pouring so much that my rickshaw kept breaking down every 500 meters on the flyover. To make things worse in the Mumbai rains, my battery completely died out, so I couldn’t use Google Maps. I kept stopping, running out in the rain, and asking for directions. Somehow, I made it to her building 3 hours later, and it was more than worth it. We spoke for hours over cups of tea, and when I hugged her to leave, I knew I wanted to spend more time with her. We started going on dates, making plans and everything happened so organically that I knew I had to be with her.

She was apprehensive when I asked her to date me only after about a week because she had rushed into things before and had been hurt. I told her how I felt about her, honestly and I’m so glad she trusted me and gave us that chance. On our 3rd date, she introduced me to her parents as a ‘friend’ and after two weeks told them we were dating — there was no stress. We still don’t know how the conversation came up, but within one month of dating, we were talking about a possible future — and it just fit. One day, randomly out of the blue, while we were at her house watching TV, she looked at me and said - ‘Will you marry me?” Her words were so innocent and heartfelt that even though I’d known it all along, I felt it on every level. This is the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.”

“What has been the happiest memory so far?”

“It’s all been so exhilarating, but I think the time we were in Goa for his birthday was definitely something special. There was this one night where we were sitting on bean bags on the beach, under the stars and drinking beers when we randomly decided to take this quiz — 36 Questions to Know Whether You’re in Love’. I know it sounds childish, but as we began answering these questions, it just hit us that we found something so special and meaningful… it was one of those beautiful epiphanies that will stay with me for a long time. I mean, what can I say? He swiped right into my heart!”

Mumbai rains | love | rain | Humans of Bombay

“I was 18 when I cried for the first time. It was over a girl I had given my heart to. We had met at a club, and then started going out. We cared a lot for one another. Before that, I didn’t know what love was or how to love, but I was a goner for her. In no time, I became very serious about her. But one day, my friend took me to Bandstand, and I saw her with another guy. It was then that I realised that the girl I was so serious about was only playing with me. That’s when I started crying. It was raining lightly, so no one could make out whether I was crying or not -- I was so thankful for the Mumbai rains that day!”

Bombay | rain | Mumbai rains | Humans of Bombay

“When it rains heavily, I always think of the 2005 floods. I was stuck under the Parel flyover with a man who wanted to reach his home in Ghatkopar. The water levels were so high that we couldn’t even open the cab door to get drinking water. But then, people started passing vada pav and water from car to car until it reached all those who couldn’t reach food stalls. In my 40 years of driving a cab, I’ve never seen Bombay come together the way it did during those days -- there was no rich or poor, just humans trying to help each other in any way possible.

My passenger and I were stuck in my cab for over 10 hours, and during that time we spoke about a lot of things -- from our families to our dreams. There were no barriers as he candidly told me about his life, and I told him about mine. As the conversation went on, one thing became clear -- we came from different social classes, but all we both cared about was getting home to our families.

As the water started clearing the next morning, I decided to go to drop him at Ghatkopar even though my house was nearby. I don’t know why but I felt responsible for him. He thanked me over and over again, gave me extra money even though I tried to refuse, and said he would always remember me. I don’t know about him, but every time it rains, I think about that night and how a flood unknowingly brought us all closer together.”

dating | rain | Mumbai rains | Humans of Bombay

“Are you two dating?”

“No, he’s my ex. We’ve actually met today after 3 years.”

“What happened back then?”

“I moved away to study and it didn’t work out.”

“So, how come you guys met today?”

“We always came here to just walk in the rain, and we spoke today after years, so we thought why not?”

Humans of Bombay is here to bring you ordinary people’s extraordinary stories. We hope these stories made you smile and gave you all the feels. If you’d like to read more such stories, check out our book and dive into the diverse tales of Bombay.

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