It has been raining in Chennai. With that everything else falls in place or rather falls out of place. Copious supply of water is now available in all reservoirs, tanks, lakes and Roads.
An amusement park developer spends Lakhs of rupees to set up an artificial beach, swimming pool et all. But thanks to the great planning and maintenance of this City, you get all these absolutely FREE. The best Roller-Coasters are available on Chennai roads when your brakes fail on a rainy day.
I am not trying to satire the system. Peepli Live had done it and bored me to death.
My personal experience is what I'd like to share here.
Caught unawares by the rains last week, got drenched one day. WOW it was so much fun!! Definitely fun, but the thought of my back pack and handbag getting drenched caused all the shivers I experienced that night. It doesn't take much to guess that I was carrying Cell phones, wads of Cash and Clothes. 'C' all the trouble I was in.
That was the story of the Rains and the Roads. But the Road-runners is another story.
The lesson I learnt was that "Do Not Travel to North Chennai' when it rains.
I boarded a bus at Perambur and happily counted on reaching home in an hour. If you have ever traveled to there, you could not have missed the Marvelous looking, Oh so uselessly LONG bridge. Been there and done that.
There is no suspense or surprise in saying that the bus took an hour to just get across the bridge. Actually after an hour I was still somewhere on Perambur Bricklin Road. One hour. If you are wisecracking as to why I wasn't on an Auto, I didn't want to buy one as the autowallahs were quoting the price of the vehicle for a ride. Trains were also nowhere in sight and that left me on this bus, standing for an whole hour.
Then at some turn there was relief and the Bus flew into Free Air.
The experience was not really a great one and surely not something anyone would have enjoyed reading the recount of. But had to spill it out. I shuddered with the thought of those who have to endure this everyday and those who have to walk on those flooded roads.
It is one thing to sit in a swanky office and speak at a press conference about Monsoon Preparedness and completely another to be sitting on a wet floor after wading through waist deep rain water.
An amusement park developer spends Lakhs of rupees to set up an artificial beach, swimming pool et all. But thanks to the great planning and maintenance of this City, you get all these absolutely FREE. The best Roller-Coasters are available on Chennai roads when your brakes fail on a rainy day.
I am not trying to satire the system. Peepli Live had done it and bored me to death.
My personal experience is what I'd like to share here.
Caught unawares by the rains last week, got drenched one day. WOW it was so much fun!! Definitely fun, but the thought of my back pack and handbag getting drenched caused all the shivers I experienced that night. It doesn't take much to guess that I was carrying Cell phones, wads of Cash and Clothes. 'C' all the trouble I was in.
That was the story of the Rains and the Roads. But the Road-runners is another story.
The lesson I learnt was that "Do Not Travel to North Chennai' when it rains.
I boarded a bus at Perambur and happily counted on reaching home in an hour. If you have ever traveled to there, you could not have missed the Marvelous looking, Oh so uselessly LONG bridge. Been there and done that.
There is no suspense or surprise in saying that the bus took an hour to just get across the bridge. Actually after an hour I was still somewhere on Perambur Bricklin Road. One hour. If you are wisecracking as to why I wasn't on an Auto, I didn't want to buy one as the autowallahs were quoting the price of the vehicle for a ride. Trains were also nowhere in sight and that left me on this bus, standing for an whole hour.
Then at some turn there was relief and the Bus flew into Free Air.
The experience was not really a great one and surely not something anyone would have enjoyed reading the recount of. But had to spill it out. I shuddered with the thought of those who have to endure this everyday and those who have to walk on those flooded roads.
It is one thing to sit in a swanky office and speak at a press conference about Monsoon Preparedness and completely another to be sitting on a wet floor after wading through waist deep rain water.
I feel wet now :D
ReplyDeleteNice.. last few lines very well written.
Travelling by bus on rainy days is torture..and the pain feels endless until you reach a stretch of road that is free of traffic and the bus speeds letting fresh air hit your face.. bliss :)