Something that I wrote after my encounter with Mother Nature's fury on July 26, 2005--
" Veni, Vidi but not quite Vici " must be the thought uppermost in
the Rain Gods' minds today, because after the initial setback,
Mumbai has come back to life. Although there are certain suburbs
still reeling under the blows dealt by the weather, things have
picked up pretty quickly.It is difficult to believe that its been
only three days since the rains started wreaking havoc....
Cut to Tuesday...Marketing class in progress...when suddenly
someone looked out of the window and said .."we're flooding" ...the
dullness of the class transformed into excitement.." oh boy..great
rain after a long time",we thought...but suddenly realised that this
was not quite just " great rain "..it was tremendous rain..some
guys waded to the hostel 9 the hostel is around 15 mins walk during
normal conditions )while it was still pouring and the water was
three feet high...the others stayed put, waiting for the rain to
stop and the water to subside..little did they know that it would be
two days before the rain stopped.
I reached the hostel at 5,forty five minutes after I started.
Showered and started to wait for the others. Meanwhile, the mess
kitchen had been flooded, and we were in for a dinner less night.
By 7, half the guys were in. The water was four and half feet by
now, and steadily rising. There was no power supply and it was
starting to get dark. To add to it, there was no cellular service
available,and most of the phones were not operational,having got wet
during the journey from college to hostel. Stores of snacks were
being opened and ways of arranging dinner being thought of.
One funny incident comes to mind.A guy escorted 4 girls to our
hostel, showered, chabged, and then went back into the water, to
take them to the girls hostel!
9 pm - its dark and there is no news of the guys in college - there
is nothing left to eat ..one guy manages to call a restaurant and
asks him if they can deliver food - the guy says there is no food
left, only snacks like biscuits, namkeen et cetera - and - yes, he
can get it delivered! Joyous celebrations erupt in the room, but the
news is kep a closely guarded secret. At 9:30, a guys wades thru
five feet of water,and hands us the bag of goodies which I
discreetly smuggle to a room. While I am collecting the cash to pay
him, the news leaks out, and other guys ask him to bring food for
them too..but he refuses- any way, I pay him, and he goes off. I
loiter around for some time, and then make my way to the room. A
gala feast of biscuits, khakra (something like a papad) and namkeen
is underway. Manage to eat something and look forward to surviving
the night somehow.
" Veni, Vidi but not quite Vici " must be the thought uppermost in
the Rain Gods' minds today, because after the initial setback,
Mumbai has come back to life. Although there are certain suburbs
still reeling under the blows dealt by the weather, things have
picked up pretty quickly.It is difficult to believe that its been
only three days since the rains started wreaking havoc....
Cut to Tuesday...Marketing class in progress...when suddenly
someone looked out of the window and said .."we're flooding" ...the
dullness of the class transformed into excitement.." oh boy..great
rain after a long time",we thought...but suddenly realised that this
was not quite just " great rain "..it was tremendous rain..some
guys waded to the hostel 9 the hostel is around 15 mins walk during
normal conditions )while it was still pouring and the water was
three feet high...the others stayed put, waiting for the rain to
stop and the water to subside..little did they know that it would be
two days before the rain stopped.
I reached the hostel at 5,forty five minutes after I started.
Showered and started to wait for the others. Meanwhile, the mess
kitchen had been flooded, and we were in for a dinner less night.
By 7, half the guys were in. The water was four and half feet by
now, and steadily rising. There was no power supply and it was
starting to get dark. To add to it, there was no cellular service
available,and most of the phones were not operational,having got wet
during the journey from college to hostel. Stores of snacks were
being opened and ways of arranging dinner being thought of.
One funny incident comes to mind.A guy escorted 4 girls to our
hostel, showered, chabged, and then went back into the water, to
take them to the girls hostel!
9 pm - its dark and there is no news of the guys in college - there
is nothing left to eat ..one guy manages to call a restaurant and
asks him if they can deliver food - the guy says there is no food
left, only snacks like biscuits, namkeen et cetera - and - yes, he
can get it delivered! Joyous celebrations erupt in the room, but the
news is kep a closely guarded secret. At 9:30, a guys wades thru
five feet of water,and hands us the bag of goodies which I
discreetly smuggle to a room. While I am collecting the cash to pay
him, the news leaks out, and other guys ask him to bring food for
them too..but he refuses- any way, I pay him, and he goes off. I
loiter around for some time, and then make my way to the room. A
gala feast of biscuits, khakra (something like a papad) and namkeen
is underway. Manage to eat something and look forward to surviving
the night somehow.
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