Ashok Ogra
There is a light-hearted saying: "A Kashmiri weather forecast is simple-carry an umbrella if the sun is shining."
The umbrella, however, is more than protection against the rain. It has also found a place in India's popular culture.
Few Bollywood scenes are as memorable as Raj Kapoor and Nargis walking through the rain under a single umbrella in the evergreen song "Pyar Hua Ikrar Hua" from Shree 420. For many Indians, that single umbrella came to symbolise love and companionship.
Every monsoon, that memory returns in a different way. The first dark clouds gather, the wind turns cooler and umbrellas suddenly appear everywhere. They emerge from handbags, office drawers, school bags and car boots. Within minutes, streets are dotted with umbrellas of every size and colour.
Umbrella has a history stretching back over four thousand years. In India, the traditional chhatra has, for centuries, represented honour, dignity and spiritual authority. Even today, beautifully decorated umbrellas are carried during temple festivals and religious processions.
The earliest umbrellas appeared in ancient India, Egypt, Persia and China. When first designed, it was meant to provide shade, not protection from rain. They were simply large sunshades carried over kings, queens and religious leaders. In those days, an umbrella was a symbol of power and prestige. It announced that the person walking beneath it was someone important.
Rain entered the umbrella's story much later.
In Greece and Rome, it became a fashionable accessory, particularly among wealthy women. Europe admired it for its elegance, but for a long time many people believed it was not suitable for men. Carrying an umbrella was seen as a sign of softness rather than practicality.
As the years passed, umbrellas changed too. New materials made them lighter, stronger and easier to carry. Factories began producing them in large numbers and prices came down. What had once belonged only to kings and wealthy families slowly found its way into ordinary homes. China is also believed to have produced some of the earliest folding umbrellas.
Today we hardly notice how many kinds of umbrellas surround us. Tiny folding umbrellas disappear into handbags. Large golf umbrellas comfortably shelter two or three people. Children proudly carry colourful umbrellas covered with cartoon characters. There are transparent umbrellas, wind-resistant umbrellas and even a few with built-in fans.
Today the umbrella belongs to everyone.
The businessman carries one. So does the street vendor.
Rain makes no distinction. Neither does the umbrella.
Long before modern fabric umbrellas became common, people in Kerala made umbrellas from dried palm leaves. These olakkudas protected farmers, fishermen and travellers from both the blazing sun and heavy rain. Some were used in everyday life, while others became part of temple festivals, folk performances and traditional theatre. Although they are no longer a common sight, skilled craftsmen continue to make them for ceremonial occasions.
Japan gave the umbrella an altogether different place. Traditional paper umbrellas, known as wagasa, are admired for their beauty and fine craftsmanship. But they are also woven into Japanese folklore. According to an old belief, certain everyday objects can become the resting place of friendly spirits. Umbrellas are among them. Even today, beautifully decorated umbrellas appear in festivals where they are believed to bring blessings and good fortune.
Whether these stories are true matters less than what they represent. They remind us that even the simplest objects can become part of a people's history, traditions and imagination.
And perhaps that explains why the umbrella is much more than a device to keep us dry, and has become special because of the memories associated with it.
In India, the umbrella found its most natural home in the monsoon. Here, it is not merely functional-it is deeply woven into daily rhythms.
In Mumbai, a sea of black umbrellas moves in synchrony during peak rains. In
In Kolkata, for generations, the sturdy black umbrella became almost a part of the city's identity.
The umbrella has even shaped the identity of some Indian towns. Alappuzha is widely regarded as India's umbrella manufacturing hub. For decades, generations of local families have earned their livelihood making umbrellas.
A story, repeated in local circles though difficult to verify historically, tells of a British Resident visiting Srinagar. When rain began, the British officer immediately opened an umbrella. The Maharaja reportedly smiled and said: "In Kashmir we wait for the rain to decide whether it wishes to stay." Sure enough, the shower lasted only a minute. Whether true or not, the anecdote captures the valley's famously fleeting showers.
Umbrellas also bring people closer, create a moment of privacy in a crowded street and turn an ordinary shower into a memory.
Photographers too understand this well. A lone umbrella on a rainy street can tell an entire story.
Every umbrella carries two stories-one about the rain outside and another about the person beneath it.
Queen Elizabeth II often carried transparent umbrellas during official visits. They kept her dry while allowing people and photographers to see her clearly, becoming a practical and elegant feature of her public appearances.
Anyone who has visited the Taj Mahal would remember another kind of umbrella. Tourist guides often carry brightly coloured umbrellas, not to keep off the rain but to help visitors spot them in the crowd. On busy days, the umbrella becomes a moving landmark.
Umbrellas have also appeared in several memorable political episodes as well. The British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, was rarely seen without his black umbrella. After signing the Munich Agreement with Hitler, the umbrella became a symbol of his policy of trying to avoid war through compromise. Even today, it is remembered as a political symbol of appeasement.
Similarly, during Kennedy's assassination in Dallas in November 1963, a man opened an umbrella on a bright sunny day. This sparked years of conspiracy theories. Later, the man explained that it was simply a symbolic protest against the Kennedy family's policies, not part of any conspiracy.
Umbrellas are also seen during protest marches across the world. During one such pro-democracy protest in Hong Kong, demonstrators used umbrellas to protect themselves from pepper spray and tear gas. The umbrella soon became the movement's symbol of peaceful resistance and the struggle for democracy.
The umbrella has another quality that often goes unnoticed. Unlike a mobile phone or a laptop, it never demands attention. It has no battery to charge, no software to update and no screen to distract us. It is usually kept behind the door until the clouds gather again. Then it quietly comes to our rescue.
The rains will soon end. The skies will clear, and the umbrella will return to its familiar place behind the door or inside a cupboard. Weeks may pass before anyone thinks about it again.
Then one morning, perhaps next summer, dark clouds will gather once more. A cool breeze will begin to blow. The first drops will fall. Almost without thinking, we will reach for the same useful companion.
And once again, an object that has served people for thousands of years will quietly do the job it was meant to do.
(The author works for reputed Apeejay Education)