Welcome Mumbai Rains!

Quick wet notes on heavy rains in Mumbai on June 30…

It is raining dinosaurs in Mumbai…

I had to attend a seminar at Matunga East….I started at 8 reluctantly….The heavy rains and the dark environment did not encourage me to go out…but I had to go…work is important…also I had to go to Gujarat then….but the impact of rains hit me when I saw the empty streets…I could not get auto for 10-15 minutes…a few of did not agree to take me to my destination…i changed my plans and decided to go to office instead…one auto fellow agreed…but he said i will no go by Western Express highway…i will leave you only till Kandivali station…then you take another auto…I agree…we started our journey…I could see streets submerged in waters..children and young people were coming back from school and college as they had been closed and people asked to reach home..they were playing and enjoying the rains…the freedom to get wet and go home late was inviting….elsewhere labourers and daily wage workers were waiting for buses and walking down…they could not afford to lose their daily wage….suddenly my auto fellow stopped….he did not agree to go ahead any more….the water ahead was too deep and he did not have courage…i argued with him without success…then i told him that atleast you could take me to the nearest station i.e. Malad and we returned backwards towards Malad Station…there were many people on the station…..trains were running late by hours…the usual railway announcements continued in a tone and voice which no one ever understands….trains to churchgate were more frequent…i saw Ferozpur Express and Saurashtra Express which were late by hours….sadly trains to Borivali – the opposite direction – were very rare…after 25-30 minutes, a train arrived with people standing out and on top of it…that is normal in Mumbai trains but today there were more people….something like train from Pakistan to India during Partition days….full of people with different emotions – some were enjoying rain while some were fed up of it…i managed to get in and also caught with two of my colleagues in the train who had boarded from Andheri…I got down at Kandivali and luckily got an auto..reached office at 10…2 hours after I started from home….the only problem was that my entire bag was throughly drenched and my clothes for Ahmedabad were now wet and damp….they are now getting dried in my training room while i have reduced my six pocket to bermuda by remove its 1/4th part….

People today are afraid of July 26 now….not many people in offices…also it is a saturday so there is less attendance….so I can clear my backlog today…

Welcome Mumbai Rains….It means so many things for so many people…..for romantics it is the season of love….for school children and office goers – an excuse for extra holiday….for workholics like me – a time for clearing workload….for Govt / PSU / Public utitlies – more work and more alertness to ensure continuous service….for daily wage earner – an interruption for some and a new opportunity for some….for all of us – enjoying the new color and new season of mother nature..