For me, monsoon is a very beautiful time of the year when you can really enjoy the outdoors, obviously if you’re not getting drenched. I’m a very outdoorsy person and I love sitting in quaint places and having a cup of coffee. Luckily, I am blessed that some clubs are accessible to me, like The Bengal Rowing Club, Tollygunge Club, and The Saturday Club, where you can actually sit and watch the rain while having a cup of coffee. I also hail from Murshidabad, Azimganj, so we have a haven for mangoes there. So as a family, we have a ritual, especially in this season, where we can just have mangoes at all times of the day. We go and get these mangoes specifically from Murshidabad because it’s not available in the markets here — so Kalapahar, Kohitur, Imli, Sadolla and Anaras. The Kohitur mango itself is so delicate that it needs to be served on cotton otherwise it’ll get spoiled! We love mangoes in this season — Sourav Kothari, Arjuna awardee and World Billiards Champion

Rohan Arora

I am from St. James’ School, so I remember there would be a lane next to the school that would always get flooded even if it was just a little rain. Our school bus would be parked there, and I remember walking through the rain as ironic as it sounds because today I tell everyone and all my clients to keep their shoes away from the rain as much as possible! I remember during my schooldays I would never take off my shoes and socks so I would just love to walk in the rain with them on. I would get a huge jhaar at home but still, I would love to do it (laughs). This is, I think, my earliest memory of the rains in Calcutta. When I started designing shoes in 2008, I remember making these shoes out of this see-through plastic material... you know these transparent umbrellas which are really in vogue at the moment... so I remember getting hold of that material and making shoes out of it and we promoted it saying that you could wear them in the rain. And it did quite well! People actually picked it up because they were transparent and their feet could be seen and all that, but personally for me, they were actually made to walk in the rain.

For me, I think the monsoon is all about reflecting. There are times when I just want to sit by my window with my coffee and look outside. Then there are times when I like to get wet in the rain with my daughter. This year we made sure that we went out for a walk when it was raining cats and dogs and then we went to the terrace because we hadn’t had enough! And we made sure that we got absolutely drenched. Another ritual is getting a stomach upset because of how much junk food I eat during this season (laughs) — Rohan Arora, footwear designer

Avantika Saraogi

Rainy days for me are best spent looking out of the beautiful French-style windows at Monkey Bar, watching the rain wash the Victoria Memorial and all of Calcutta whilst cosying up to a Butter Chicken Khichdi or a Fatty Exotic Mushroom Ramen bowl, or Nimbu Masala Fries with some hot chai! It feels like a warm bear hug to the soul! And after, when the sky clears and there are some nice flooded patches, my husband and I love to go out on our horses and take them for a ride into the pools of water. It’s super invigorating for us and our horses! Horses love to swim so what we do is we take our horses into the water and they really love it. Those older Owl City songs like Fireflies are great for the monsoon for when you’re driving in the rain — Avantika Saraogi, partner at Monkey Bar and The Fatty Bao, business lead at Balrampur Chini Mills Ltd.

Bibriti Chatterjee

Regarding the monsoon, it’s a very mixed feeling for me. If I am outdoors, working, then I feel disgusted (laughs). But if I’m not at work then I plan to go out! I like to get drenched and have phuchkas and pav bhaji. All chaats! When I’m in Calcutta and it rains, then I would love to have khichri and aloo bhaja. That is what I look forward to the most. I love the song Rimjhim gire saawan during this season and of course, there is that scene from Fanaa where Aamir Khan and Kajol were dancing, I don’t remember the song, but she was in a yellow kurta (Dekho na). I don’t know why but I really connect that movie to the monsoon as well. I really look forward to wearing my shorts, and some cool and easy A-line dresses and vibrant, pop colours. This season also inspires me creatively. It makes me a little pensive but it definitely brings out the creative juices in me — Bibriti Chatterjee, model and actor

Diti Saha

The first rain of the season always lifts up my mood, the scent of the parched earth that has just been hit by the rains, the taste of crunchy pakoras made by my grandma with a steamy cup of tea, the spirit of romantic songs that didn’t sound the same otherwise — monsoon really has its own indescribable joys. For a girl like me, there’s no other pleasure than sitting by the window, reading a book and drinking tea while it rains outside all day. During my childhood days after the scorching summer season when the first rain hit the ground, my cousins and I used to run to the terrace just to get drenched every other afternoon. As a teenager I would always romanticise myself straight out of a Nicholas Sparks movie scene. I think monsoon and my favourite playlist have that pitch perfect relationship with me. Rain has also been a sort of personal hideaway for me. From remembering a loved one to nostalgic memories... it sums everything up so beautifully — Diti Saha, model and actor

Ajay Kumar

Monsoon always comes with lots of fun. This monsoon I was telling my son who is eight years old that let’s go out in the rain and have fun. When we were kids we used to never stay at home when it was raining, we used to play so much in the rain and mud. So that was the memory we had and I took him out and my son just went crazy playing in the rain! So the rain brings lots of freshness and lots of joy to me. I love going for a long drive and having tea or some sort of snack at a roadside dhaba or restaurant which is open-air so you are enjoying the weather with your food or tea. I stay very close to Eco Park so whenever it rains what we do is we make tea, put it in a flask, go around the lake somewhere, park our car and just enjoy our tea. This is a season which comes with a lot of freshness so when you look around, nature is at its peak. Everything is blooming. So these things are also very close to my collection. There are flowers, butterflies, the grass is green — you can’t find this kind of colour in any season. The feeling is so nice when the earth smells so beautiful. So all this definitely gives a lot of inspiration to me and it’s also very close to our collection because we try to focus a lot on nature — Ajay Kumar, fashion designer

Neha Gandhi Binjrajka

I have always loved the monsoon. My birthday is in August so it always rains and I love that. I love wearing prints during the monsoon. Darker shades, like you know a dark green or a nice emerald green, a black, a maroon, those are the kind of colours which I go with during the monsoon. I also love wearing dresses, it’s the best time. Pants usually get dirty with water splashing so dresses are the easiest and most comfortable thing to wear when you’re out. I want my pakoras, I want my chai, I want my Maggi. The minute it starts raining, chai and Maggi are my favourite combinations to eat while lounging on the bed and watching or rewatching any serial like The Big Bang Theory. It’s just comforting. I also weirdly get inspired to exercise a lot during this season because I end up eating so much! The minute it starts raining I call for something to eat. In Calcutta we don’t get to wear gumboots very often but whenever I get a chance I slip into them. I have a hot pink pair of gumboots and I absolutely love them — Neha Gandhi Binjrajka, celebrity stylist and designer

Bridgette Jones

I’m in Goa on holiday right now and all I can say is that there is something truly magical about Goa during the monsoon. Apart from its scenic beauty, which is like a treat for your eyes, Goa during the monsoon is just the perfect time to discover that there is so much more to this beautiful little state than the sun and the sand. Unending fields of greenery, a very laid-back life during the monsoons because you just stay indoors and feel so lazy, and a great thing about being here during the monsoons is that you avoid the throng of tourists. So everything goes at a very leisurely pace. Think empty streets, drenched beaches, green and swelling waterfalls, wild peacocks that we love to stalk almost every day, exotic birds, vast, lush paddy fields, lots of photography and my best thing to do is scooter ride. Just to enjoy the beauty of Goa. The Goan Poi is a very popular wholewheat bread... I look forward to eating this poi bread, toasted with loads and loads of butter! I absolutely love it. Monsoon gives me a sense of cosiness and warmth. It’s very romantic for sure so I love curling up in a corner with a book or watching a nice programme with my friends around me... and of course there has to be lots of eating — Bridgette Jones, celebrity hairstylist and director of Bridgette Jones Fashion Salon Pvt Ltd

Mohammed Iqbal

Monsoon is just one of my favourite seasons and it is much needed to overcome the heat of summer. It’s a kind of relief and I think the most memorable moments are created through monsoon days. As a kid I always loved the monsoon season. I used to enjoy my monsoon days playing active games with friends like football on the school terrace and as soon as school would get over we used to go out and catch up with some fast food and just enjoy the rain. We used to fight for umbrellas, literally like who got the fancier one, and even for raincoats, these stories are just so fun now. My favourite treats for the monsoon are bhutta, jhal muri, fast food.... Since I am most passionate towards my fitness goals and I am not allowed to break any of the rules, I choose to cheat only one day a week to enjoy these things. I feel quite relaxed and happy at the same time. I plan a weekend with friends at home or just go out for a drive all alone and enjoy. And if nothing works and I am just at home then I enjoy reading my books with a cup of coffee. The monsoon experience is always so cheerful, fun and full of moments. My choice for monsoon wear is always simple yet smart casuals. Monsoon brings happiness and joy to everyone who sees positivity around them; for me it’s the most beautiful and philosophical season of the year — Mohammed Iqbal, model and actor

Rimi Nayak

During my schooldays, we would always wait for the rainy days because we would get those unexpected holidays where we would come back home through waterlogged streets and make paper boats. Now in the office also, I wait for those days when it’s raining heavily because I like to go out and get a little bit drenched and even at times I still make those paper boats and put them on the water. It’s also a very peaceful time for me with the sound of the rain, it really refreshes you. I generally like to do my creative work on those days because you get time to ideate or think more and reflect. So it is the rainy days when I like to create the most. I also love to eat all kinds of fries during this season. You think of rain and you think of this. And of course, a warm drink. Chai or coffee. When I’m home I have a specific corner of my house, which is the balcony, where I prefer to be whenever it rains, and I can do my own thing there. And I really love to travel, so even if it’s driving through the rain, or rain in a hilly area with lush green all around, it just nourishes the soul — Rimi Nayak, fashion designer