04 July,2026 10:36 AM IST | Mumbai | Nandini Varma
Pics courtesy/Amazon
In the relentless rain of Kalimpong, Kiran Desai's novel follows the lives of a retired judge's granddaughter Sai, her tutor Gyan, and the cook. As romance brews between Sai and Gyan, the cook worries about his son Biju, who is struggling as an illegal immigrant in New York. Meanwhile, mold seeps into the house, mirroring the interior lives of the characters.
Arthur Dent returns to Earth in Douglas Adams's fourth novel in the Hitchhikers⦠series. He encounters a rainstorm and is splashed by Rob McKenna, an ordinary lorry driver. McKenna has witnessed rain everywhere and notes 231 types in his little book. The clouds cherish him because he is a Rain God, but he doesn't know it yet.
Three outsiders, a marine biologist, a translator-businessman, and a fisherman are united in their quest to watch the Irawaddy river dolphins, an endangered species. Through the raging Sunderbans with tidal dangers and man-eating tigers, Amitav Ghosh's novel draws our attention to stories of conflict and survival, especially of the inhabitants of the mangrove forests.
Raymond Chandler's short story first appeared in a pulp detective magazine in the 1930s. Set in Los Angeles, in pouring rain, it features a private investigator who is asked to protect a wealthy client's daughter from a blackmail scheme. The story was incorporated in Chandler's later novel The Big Sleep, another rainy-day mystery.
Stephen Alter's quintessential Indian monsoon read throws a light on how the rains have shaped various ecosystems and empires. From Kerala to Goa, the author takes us to the Nilgiri tahr, the glowing fungi, maritime traders, music and poetry inspired by the season, and perfumers who bottled the scent of rain.
Capturing the sights and sounds from his time spent in the Himalayas, Ruskin Bond brings us a collection of notes where "the steady swish" of the downpour becomes a constant background. Whether it's his reflections on the sounds we hear on the land and the sea or the silence marking the end of monsoon in Mussoorie, readers are transported to simpler times.
When Melissa Harrison walked from the market town of Keswick to the picturesque Threlkeld in the Lake District, she was inspired to write about the wet English landscapes. Hiking through four rain showers across four seasons, she observes with lucidity how the rain transforms the countryside. She also makes delightful use of poetry and historical research.
In this travelogue, British travel writer Alexander Frater follows the monsoon across India, from Trivandrum to Cherrapunji in Meghalaya. With wonder and nostalgia for his home in the tropical South Pacific islands, he writes about the little discoveries he makes and the interesting people he meets during his journey.
Available All titles at leading bookstores & e-stores.
It's Going to Rain!: Children will learn to count as they watch the world around them - cats, puppies, friends, farmers - prepare for the rains. Written by Ramya Sriram and illustrated by Nandini Sharma, this little book is a bright and delightful read.
Also read:
>> A Walk through the Rain Forest by Martin Jenkins
>> Desert Girl, Monsoon Boy by Tara Dairman
>> Let's Catch the Rain by Vinod Lal Heera Eshwer
>> Sunshine in the Monsoons by Tina Athaide
