It’s that time of year again — when the earth comes alive with the scent of wet mud, and everything slows down just a little. For many of us, the monsoon isn’t just a season — it’s a feeling.

It’s the sound of rain pelting tiled roofs, the joy of biting into a smoky, salted bhutta (corn on the cob) from a roadside cart, the hush of a power cut as the wind whistles through the windows.

These small, quiet joys once made the monsoon magical. And for many parents today, they’re the very moments they long to relive — this time, with their children.

So we at The Better India asked a few parents: What’s that one monsoon memory from your childhood you’d love to experience again — hand in hand with your child?

Setting up pretend idli-dosa shop

Rain in Chennai doesn’t come often — but when it does, it transforms the city into something magical. The streets glisten, the trees look greener, flowers burst with bright colours, and there’s joy in the air.

For 33-year-old Gayathri Tarwady, a mother based in Hyderabad, monsoon brings with it a flood of childhood memories from her home in Chennai.

“The moment it started raining, my sister and I would rush to the backyard and splash around in the puddles,” she recalls with a smile. “Once we were done playing, we’d settle near a window and set up our little pretend idli-dosa stall — using leaves as plates and pebbles as the food. We’d sell them to our........

© The Better India