PHOTO: MEHEDI HASAN

ASHIF AHMED RUDRO

Dhaka has a love-hate relationship with rain. The city desperately craves rain, yet remains poorly equipped to handle the downpour when it does come.

The city can be divided into several imaginary sections, each responding to rain differently. But perhaps no part of Dhaka handles rain quite like Dhaka University.

The DU campus is one of the few places in the city where one can still find green trees. Rain is welcomed here, almost always with a kind of festivity that only DU can harbour.

I remember when I used to live in one of the dormitories. My room was on the 9th floor. From the balcony, I had a clear view of the Kabi Jasimuddin Hall playground outside. No matter the time, if rain fell, boys would manage a football and get on the pitch.

It might not have been much of a pitch at that time. It was an uneven field, with patches of grass and slippery soil here and there, but that did not stop the boys. When rain came, those studious people in their early to mid-twenties became children again.

It was like this in every playground on the campus. There used to be a little waterlogging problem in the playground of Haji Muhammad Mohsin Hall, but that never stopped anyone from playing in the water.

The walkway through Mall Chattar that leads to the hall para is shaded by trees, offering a breath of fresh air. But it looks exceptionally dreamy after rain.

Sometimes, one finds krishnachura shielding the harsh asphalt, turning the dark tarmac into a much more vibrant road to take. There were days when the road ahead looked just wet enough to reflect the sky, covered with flowers that had fallen during the rain.

The mirror-like road, adorned with nature’s ornaments, presents a view one would usually see only on canvas. But here, on the campus I called home, it was not just a reality, it was a routine.

The path felt as if it had come straight out of a storybook. If you were one of the more enthusiastic people, as I was back in the day, you could walk this road during the rain and you would not be alone.

There were always those few who found joy in rain. They stepped out in the downpour to feel every drop of water that had touched the clouds.

It makes you feel alive. And you never feel out of place doing it on this campus because there is always someone dancing in the rain.

The grass of Curzon Hall looks much lusher after rain, whether it is just a little drizzle or an absolute deluge. The effect remains the same.

The ponds behind the historic edifice turn a strangely captivating colour, one that I cannot put into words. The red walls look less like stone and more like an unpolished jewel. The dark soil beneath your feet feels welcoming.

Sure, to many, this may sound like an alumnus romanticising their campus. And that is true.

But it does not take away from the beauty of this campus.

It makes me want to sing: “Rain, rain, go away, come around another way, Dhaka University wants to play, rain, rain, come right away.”