Best Rainy Day Read - Treasure Island

For Pune, at least, the monsoon is here. One of the perks of growing up in monsoon towns is that you gain all kinds of must-dos for the season. I’ve no idea if other cultures in other geographical locations have something of the sort…For me it was curling up with a good book.

In India, the youngsters tend to go do something drenchingly delightful - play football in the sludge amidst the downpour. And there are all kinds of monsoon must eats - spicy, piquant, dripping and sticky sugariness - and there is no greater indulgence than downing a great many seasonal snacks whilst reading.

Every monsoon, hordes of Indians take to reading. Sometimes going out in the rain is no walk in the park and it’s not every day we want to be bespattered by the spurious spray from a passing vehicle on a flooded street. Very sensibly, men, women and children find a book, find a nook and voila! Every monsoon India reads with gusto.

In an Indian monsoon imaginations run wild. This is the best time to read adventure stories. The lighting is mostly misty and mystical. The sound of the rain pattering is evocative. All your senses are alive as you pick up that book.

For me it has to be R L Stevenson’s Treasure Island.