There was this streak of lighting sometime back. It must have been around mid night then. Soon, there was heavy downpour. I am a very light sleeper. A small sound wakes me up. And so, the sound of the downpour kept me up most of the night. Well, they always say, an idle mind is a devil’s workshop. Mine was too. Just that the devil here could be coined as ‘fat’, ‘junk’, ‘oil’ or in plain vanilla terms – food; the sin I love to indulge in.

Just by observing / tracking the sound of rain, I could sense that it would pour for hours together. At that hour of the night, the foodie in me kept tempting me to run to the kitchen and make some hot and crispy golibaje’s. Popularly known as Mangalore Bajjis these are tiny fried dumplings of maida and curd. The popular name also indicates the region to which it supposedly belongs!! The thought of golibaje made my mind wander further.

My mind quickly surpassed miles together and reached my native – Kundapur. My uncle has a very famous hotel in the town of Kundapur called Venkatesh Bhavan. They make some extremely yummy golibaje’s. Whenever I visit Kundapur, every evening there are 2 plates of golibajes that are sent home. 1 plate would have 4 of them – yummier and larger than any of them that you find in Bangalore. Crisp and golden brown in colour, they would be fried just enough to make my mouth water. May be the nativity adds to its flavour every time I have it there.

I then remembered the rains of Kundapur. Well, it does not really rain there; it pours. Every droplet of water is so large that if it hits your face you are bound to wake up and say, ‘Hey Rain God, please don’t harm me’. I simply love those rains. Imagine sitting in the covered courtyard, with a glass of piping hot coffee, a plate of hot and yummy golibajes and looking at the downpour outside the courtyard. Oh boy! That is one hell of an experience; heaven probably. I love to do it. I think that combination is a killer one. It takes me to a different zone all together. I don’t know if it is the rain, the food, the coffee, the coconut trees that I see outside the gate or a combination of all of these that makes me eagerly wait for them.

I usually visit Kundapur once during the monsoons. That also happens to be my favourite time of the year as well. You are bound to enjoy the essence of the land in it’s pure form. I’m not sure if the rain clears everything or leaves behind residues – that point of view changes depending on my mood that respective day. But, yes, it does do something to me.

Well, if I were on my way to Kollur (a place famous for it’s temple), then I have added reasons to be happy. One, I get to cross Maravanthe (my favourite beach) and then I probably might get to see a peacock/ peahen.  If I get to see a peacock/ peahen prior to the rains, it’s an added bonus. I have experienced this in the past and I have absolutely loved it.

If you are a Mangalorean or you just know how to make Golibajes, then I suggest the next time it rains, run to the kitchen and make some. You will see that you would have probably never enjoyed the rains as much! And remember to couple that with some hot coffee.