Each year, I yearn for the rains to come down… I must have been a frog in my past life. For once they arrive, I start croaking and jumping and splashing around. I love walking in the rain. And have memories of the same in various parts of India. The most vivid ones are of Gulmarg. When my friend Selma and I went to Kashmir in the early ‘80s with one-way 1st class coupe tickets (remember, we were playing hockey for Western Railway those days) and just stayed on and on for 40 days! Can’t imagine such a luxury now. Well, the point is when the heavens opened up in ‘paradise’ we were in a cosy chalet in Gulmarg and without thinking we just took off from the back door, into the most inviting and magical dense forest with the tallest of pine trees. We ran around, face upturned, arms outstretched, singing, dancing in the thick raindrops to Michael Jackson songs (our Sony walkman never let us down). We were literally rolling down the muddy slopes, chasing each other, having so much fun we did not even realise how cold we were, or that we were shivering, that our fingertips were numb and blue. Then our teeth had started to chatter and just wouldn’t stop! By this time, we had been located by the Kashmiri  staff sent out in search of us, by our host, KK Sharma, who used to be the principal of the ski school where I had learnt to ski, a few years ago. Will you believe we were on the verge of hypothermia! Meaning death. Our wet clothes were stripped off by the female cook, our hands and feet dipped in warm water, we were chucked into bed, blankets upon blankets thrown upon us. We barely managed to drink the kahwa (local tea). But the dressing down we received from KK and a lecture on hypothermia, I have never forgotten. It’s almost 40  years since then but I remember exactly what I was wearing… a pink and white mini.

Even now, come rain and if I am in Bombay, I will go for a walk on windswept Marine Drive. Alas, the bhutta walas have been chased off. Spoilsport municipality. But Panchgani is where I like to be in the monsoon. And that’s where I am almost every year, to ‘smell’ the first rain.

So, the monsoon is what prompted our  cover story. We thought it would be great to have some of the best chefs bring to you, our readers; foodies, cooks, travellers, wine connoisseurs et al, exclusive rain-related recipes to make this season that much more special. There are a total of 86 recipes in this issue. From the ubiquitous bhajiyas, and piping hot rasam to a mushroom cappucino and a Lemon & Blueberry Pound Cake, too.

And just to keep you in the loop. We have an addition to the Metro section. Calcutta! And it’s Calcutta Calling. We wanted to add this city for a while now, but just did not find a good writer. Now we have. Please welcome Malini Banerjee to the UpperCrust family. And while we are at it, turn to page 184 and see what Busybee has to say about Calcutta, a city he loved.

Incidentally, I am loving all that Marryam writes on Kashmir, which was the last add-on to the very popular Metro. Are you enjoying it, too?

The next big trend in our country is going to be mock meat. Plant-based meat. It is all poised to take a huge leap, judging from market research and the number of companies getting into this space, from filmstars, like Genelia and Riteish Deshmukh to cricketer, Virat Kohli. Well, if it helps the world and the enviroment and keeps people healthy, why not!