Rain? Gujarati Has a Word For That (And 10 More!)

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Hey there! (Warning: you might feel the urge to open an umbrella while reading this!)

You know how much I love learning something new and sharing it with you. And right now, with the monsoon season really kicking off in Ahmedabad, it got me thinking: how many different ways do we Gujaratis describe rain? So, I did a little digging, and what I found, I just had to share with you all – it’s all about the types of rain in Gujarati!

Gujarati Rain Wisdom: Not Just Drops, It’s a Whole Spectrum!

Initially, I thought rain was just… rain. But the Gujarati language has an entire universe of words to describe rain intensity! It starts with “Zarmar” (ઝરમર) rain, which is just a “Farfar” (ફરફર) – so light, it feels like the rain just popped in to say hi and then left! Like the rain just waved and said ‘bye’! Then come “Chhanta” (છાંટા)and “Fora” (ફોરા), which you can actually feel. Fora are like the raindrops giving you a little ‘poke’ to let you know they’re there!

But the real fun begins when the rain picks up. Hearing “Pachhediva” (પછેડીવા) rain makes me chuckle, because it really means you can get by with just a thin cloth! It’s like the rain saying, “Okay, that’s enough for today!” And when “Nevadhar” (નેવાધાર) rain pours, there’s a unique joy in standing under the eaves of your house. For farmers, “Molmeh” (મોલમેહ) is their lifeline – just enough for the crops, not too much, not too little. Farmers probably say, “Now that’s good rain!”

From Mushaldhar to Heli: Gujarati’s Over-the-Top Rain Descriptions!

And then comes the real storm! When one drop meets another and turns into a stream, we call that “Anradhar” (અનરાધાર) rain. But when “Sambeladhar” (સાંબેલાધાર) or “Mushaldhar” (મુશળધાર) rain comes down, it feels like buckets of water are being poured from the sky! You might wonder, “Did someone leave the tap open in the clouds?!” “Dhefabhang” (ઢેફાંભાંગ) means the rain is so strong it breaks up clods of soil in the fields – imagine how powerful that is! (I sometimes wish this rain would break all my problems too!) And “Panmeh” (પાણમેહ) means the fields are completely waterlogged and wells overflow! It’s like the water declaring, “I’m here, and no one can stop me now!”

But the most serious is “Heli” (હેલી). When it rains continuously for days ( without any chai-samosa breaks!), that’s called a Heli. When a Heli comes, even your phone might get a ‘no service’ Heli! So, next time it rains, you’ll definitely be able to identify what kind of Gujarati rain it is, right? How’s your Gujarati monsoon fun going? Let me know in the comments below!