For many Indian children, rainy afternoons were rarely spent alone. Power cuts led to candle-lit conversations. Parents made chai while children waited for pakoras or roasted corn. Card games came out of cupboards, stories were told and television often became a shared family activity instead of an individual one.
Psychologists have long found that positive social interactions strengthen emotional memories. Children may not remember every conversation, but they remember how connected they felt during those moments. That emotional warmth often becomes attached to the rain itself, which is why hearing rainfall years later can instantly bring back feelings of comfort.
