It’s been days without proper sunlight, and the familiar nursery rhyme, ‘Rain rain go away, come again another day’ has never seemed more fitting for a situation than it is now.
Every morning, when we pull the curtains back, we sigh in defeat seeing raindrops drum against our windows panes thinking of how we could have been frolicking outside instead. With drooped smiles, our faces mesh into a shade of grey akin to the colour of the skies; falling back into confusion as to what alternative could be enjoyable to do.
But who said we couldn’t have fun even if the rains stop us from stepping out?
We have pondered over a variety of things to do proactively and productively inside the comfort of our abode whilst the world outside smells of petrichor.
Rewind by listening to podcasts on interesting stories or serial-killer documentaries. Podcasts are perfect for lazy afternoons when all you want to do is lie in bed with your eyes closed. Both Apple and Android have podcast apps with a wide variety of podcasts to choose from, and, there are many more available on YouTube and online. These can be educational, informative or even nonsensical. There are story-like podcasts, like Marvel’s Wolverine: The Long Night for those of you who prefer fictional stories over real ones and, on the flip side, podcasts like some of those by BBC where people talk about events in their lives and their own stories. There’s a podcast out there for everyone; all you need to do is listen.
Music is always the best background score for any scenario. Don’t we feel like we’re living a scene out of a music video when we have our earplugs on? That’s exactly what music can do. It can lift your mood in seconds once the beat hits. So, if you’re feeling gloomy or down the weather, why not crank up the volume with these fifteen songs that we at MTTN recommend to you!
- Raincheck by Eventide
- Remember Me Lover by Procupine Tree
- Could I Love You Anymore by Renee Dominique feat. Jason Mraz
- Come In With The Rain by Taylor Swift
- Consequences by Camilla Cabello
- Apocalypse by Cigarettes After Sex
- A Rush of Blood to the Head by Coldplay
- How Do You Feel Today by Gabrielle Aplin
- Love You So Bad by Ezra Furman
- Atlantis by Bridgit Mendler
- Cold/mess by Prateek Kuhad
- Dil Mere by The Local Train
- Dil Berparvah by Prateek Kuhad
- Taro by alt-j
- Ativa by aswekeepsearching
Wipe off the dust off your old board games and relive the indoor game life. As children, we would break into a sweat by rolling the die and moving the pawn because the outcomes were always unpredictable: it’s either win or lose. But, with phones and tablets, the board games we once cherished are now stacked away in the corner of our basement, along with the laughter and memories that came witth them.
Now that you’re forced to stay inside don’t go scampering back to your phone. Instead, rediscover those games that are irreplaceable treasures of fun and share them with your friends and family. We give you some simple games that only need a pen and paper to help kick start the magic!
Three or more people are required to play Paper Telephone. You must sit in a circle, and everyone in the group must be equipped with paper. One person draws something of their choice and passes it to the person on their right. The person who receives the paper must caption the drawing. After that, s/he must fold the paper in such a way so that only the caption can be seen and hands the paper to the next person who will have to draw what the caption says. This way, the game continues until there is no room left on the paper, and the players can open the entire paper and be shocked!
Other games that require only pen and paper include: Pictionary, Hangman, Name/Place/Animal/Thing .
This one’s a no brainer; read a book. Between studying for college, maintaining a social life and wasting time on social media, most of us haven’t sat down to read a book in a while. Luckily, there’s nothing more apt to do on a rainy day than picking up a book (be it borrowed from the library, stolen from a friend or bought off the Kindle store).
We’d recommend ‘The Boy in Striped Pyjamas’ if you don’t mind shedding a few tears, or, Philip Pullman’s ‘His Dark Materials’ in preparation for BBCs upcoming TV Show on the same. If you’re looking for something darker, ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ is a mystery novel by Stieg Larsson and, it has two equally intriguing sequels.
If you’d rather not venture out in the unknown, pick up an old favourite and revisit all those places you once frequented. Maybe, you’ll discover something familiar in its pages and, maybe, you’ll discover something new too.
Push your boundaries and venture out of your comfort zone by trying something different.
If you feel like doing something productive to pass your time, you could always try something you’ve never done before. This could be anything – from knitting yourself a scarf to baking that brownie you’ve been craving all week. It’s never too late to experiment and, if you don’t enjoy it, nobody is going to force you to do the same thing again.
There is so much to do, even with just the things in your room, that you are guaranteed never to get bored. All you have to do is get up and get started!
Pick up a long lost hobby or start a new one.
Right from that song you’ve always wanted to play on your guitar, to learning to draw your favourite character, a rainy day is a perfect opportunity to get started on something you’ve always wanted to do.
You could also do something technical — be it class related or not. Maybe start that course on Coursera that you’ve been putting off for a while or start learning that programming language everyone swears you need to know.
It’s not easy to learn something and, in most cases, it might take more than a single rainy afternoon to truly pick up a new skill, but, there’s no better day to start and, the satisfaction you’ll get when you’re done, will be worth it.
So, next time you find yourself watching raindrops run down your window, don’t think about all the plans you’ll have to cancel. Instead, fill your time with something new and different. Try out things you wouldn’t normally try or, better still, do that one thing you’ve always been meaning to. There’s so much we can do at any given time, even with access to limited resources and, there’s no reason why a rainy day should come in the way of you and fun.
Written by Shreemoyee and Naintara Singh for MTTN
Images by Akshat Chourasia
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