Get Wet... Go-Malliaka Arora

Get Wet... Go

From the narrow lanes of Coorg, to the open beaches of Goa, to plain old Mumbai, our celebrities have a ready hotspot for when the weather gets wet

• Malaika Arora
I have mixed feelings about the rain. There are times when I love it and times when I detest it completely. I'm fine as long as I'm safe and dry indoors, sipping coffee and watching the rain outside. But when I have to step out in the muck, get delayed by traffic snarls and see people running for cover, I hate it. My favourite monsoon retreat is undoubtedly Goa! I just love Goa in the rains; it's lush and green and so beautiful. My friend Wendell Rodericks has a lovely house there so my family, along with a few friends, either stay with him or at the Taj.


• Sandhya Mridul
My first impulse, when it rains, is to pull out my jogging shoes and go out for a sprint. I just love to run in the rain and then eat garam pakodas and elaichi chai. The only thing I miss in Mumbai is the smell of gili miti (wet mud) which I used to enjoy in Delhi. I love to take weekend trips to Mahableshwar; I might go there this weekend too. I travel with friends and then set out trekking… literally among the clouds!


• Tara Sharma
As a child, I loved the rains, particularly the smell of the first showers. But last year I got stuck for 36 hours in my car during the deluge, and although it sounds a bit clichd, my feelings towards the rains have really changed since. Now, I'd rather stay at home and chill. But I love going to Aksa beach and or my farmhouse near Mahableshwar in this weather, provided I'm indoors, watching either the sea or the mountains from my window.


• Nikhil Chinappa
Melancholy is what the rain evokes in me and introspection. There are a quite a few places I love to go to when it rains – one is my brother's tea estate in Manjulai near Tamil Nadu, the other is my native place Coorg – which is ideal for wonderful walks. One of my friends, Rohan Mathais owns a Jungle Retreat in Madhumalai at the foothills of Ooty and that's another place I love. I was there three years ago. I used to down plenty of chai and swim in the swollen stream nearby. When we went to Ooty, the clouds were so low we were literally walking among them!


• Sophie Choudry
I have been born and brought up in England where wet skies were a regular feature of life there. Traditionally, rains have always been grey and upsetting, but here, it's a very different picture. It's romantic and life-giving and extremely beautiful. The rains in India are more beautiful than in any other part of this world. I had been to Goa in the rains once and it was gorgeous...there were parties on the beach and then we a quiet dinner. I just loved it.