Ramblings and Musings

Rains in Mumbai

The rains came, they saw and they conquered the ego of the denizens of the metropolis within a few hours. While school children's safe home arrival saw parents calling up schools, standing for hours on end at bus stands and asking anyone they knew if "the 10 no. bus went or not", office-goers who were emerging from their work at 5:00 p.m. found themselves completely at sea (pun intended), trying to a) climb down long winding stairs (with electric powers cut off), then b)
making futile journeys to the nearest railway station/bus stand/taxi stand ... then c) calling up their kith and kin to explain their predicament (and often not succeeding as the lines, both fixed and mobile, remained dead), then d) deciding to make the best of it and returning to their offices to spend the night with endless cups of (often milkless) tea and biscuits.

The rains killed over 30 people in different incidents, but they demoralised millions who faced
waist-deep waters in South Mumbai, and up to 20 feet deep waters in some suburbs (the entire first floors of residential towers being submerged); having to wade dirty slum-filled waters must lead to illnesses over the next several days.

My own evening and almost the whole night was spent in darkness and a humidity-engulfing warm air, as the lights were off at my place in Mazgaon. We - that is, my family and I - sat in the light of a few candles to have dinner, then played carrom in the same illumination, then made an early night of it and went to sleep by 11 p.m. ... the fans started whirring some time early in the morning, informing us that the current was back. Rains continued to fall, albeit with a lesser intensity till 9 a.m. today.

All schools were closed, as were all offices, banks, etc. I must say that there was no milk-supply, no newspapers of note, and hardly any taxis, buses, cycles or private vehicles on the road. There were no cops, no patrolling vehicles, no running traffic signals (barring a few important ones) and no trucks or private large buses on the roads.

Some of my relatives had a hard time; one of my cousins stayed in a BEST bus OVERNIGHT, surrounded by water as the bus stayed put on a road near Malad; yet another told me his son returned from school yesterday night at 11 p.m. (he normally does so at 5 p.m.).

I have much more to add, but that will be later. In the meantime, digest a bit of all that I have written above.