Rains, Roads and Road-Runners..

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.

Break ke baad!!!

I would recommend this to everyone. A little break. It always teaches you many things.

The words to pen my experience seem to evade my thoughts. Three days that went by beautifully cannot be summarised in 300 words. But here are the few excerpts of my experience:

There can never be enough Rain With that in mind we had planned for the inevitable. July in Kerala means rainfall. But our luck

What a rain!!!

What a rain!!! They usually say 'it rained cats and dogs' but this seemed like Elephants and Lions.

And I cowered in a corner waiting for the power to return. Spent the scariest ever evening of my life WAITING.

Was originally waiting for my parents to come back, aka I was home alone. Even Macaulay Culkin had been braver whereas I chose to fear the rains. It was not about the sound of thunder or lightning-may-spoil-my-eye kind of fear. I was afraid for my parents. They were on their way home and I was worried about them getting stuck in the rain. Luckily, by the time they reached home, rain had subsided.

I also waited for the power to come back. Just minutes before it started raining in my area, EB diligently cut the power supply. That was a good move. The wind and rain that followed would sure have struck havoc if it had come in contact with live wires. So I spent my time alone staring in to nothingness. Well not so gloomy. I was playing with my neighbour's kid. Good time pass. The power was back in half hour. So scared her saying that a 'pallee' (lizard) was near and escaped in to Fan, Light and Television.

The obvious wait was for the rain to subside. I was concerned about my parents for one part. But I was also concerned about the tomorrow. Well what would happen to that new dress I plan to wear or to my darling shoes. Sounds very vain, but these were a part of my concerns, minuscule though. I was actually worried about the state of the city if the rains had continued lashing like that.

Thank GOD that my wait for Parents, Power and No Rain, all happened at around the same time.

There was also a brief point of time, where I tried calling people. It would have helped me beat the loneliness and lightning scares. Tragically no one answered. So in turn I sadistically scared neighbour kid. Okay I wasn't that cruel. Its a joke we play on her. Even with cupped, empty hands, you can make her believe that there is a lizard in it. She gets so grossed out. Fun to watch her changing expressions. Great Timepass. And the best part is, this 2.5year old calls me AKKA.

Life is Beautiful!!!!

It is Summer...

It is summer...

Golden rays light up my days,
It is summer.
They wake me up with loads of cheer,
"Get up my darling, honey, dear"

Golden rays lift me up,
fill my soul till the top.
It is summer, can you see
The warm light brims inside me.

Golden rays do your work,


You make tiny birds chirp.
Until the time we meet again,
I shall enjoy my summer day.

Golden Fruit...

Just finished a Mango.. ripe and sweet... delicious.. this one is from a tree behind my house.. so no worries about chemically ripened fruits.. 100% natural and 100% yummy..

as the juice ran down my fingers.. (i bit into the whole mango).. my thoughts sped to a show i had seen years ago.. Variety Variety.. a guy was miming about eating a mango... it was hilarious.. the invisible fruit's juice was running all over his hands.. spilling on his shoes.. soiling his suit.. his hands mushy and squishy... and as he licked the last drops of everything... u get the feeling of having eaten a mango yourself..

so once again we are going against Nature.. chemically ripened fruits.. Is it ignorance or arrogance or arrogance mixed with ignorance...

for the arrogance part.. it always accompanies greed.. following unscrupulous means to earn quick profits... and complete disregard for others... not even bothered if the product would cause any health effects.. its alarming to find adulterated consumables and even expired medicines being sold knowingly..

a shop i know has nothing original.. this i discovered the difficult way.. tested a can of deodorant and got a rash on my arm.. today i use that very same brand but i bought from a different and much reputed store...

as for ignorance i would say that the people involved do not realise the impact such interferences and tampering have on the human body.. are they aware that the impurities may be carcinogenic??

man has to fear for bird-flu, mad-cow disease and e-coli.. which occur naturally... but even of the fish from polluted waters.. he has to also fear every vegetable for the fertilisers used or the genetic modifications made to it..

even when u bite into a simple apple, u have to wonder if u are getting some wax for free...

the only solution is to return to NATURE.. that is not easy.. plus strict quality standards should be enforced on all consumables including the perishables..

in the wake of all such things happening and not happening today... those who get to enjoy such sweet treats are truly Lucky....

Note: Stolen mangoes are always sweeter :)

Green is the colour of Prosperity...

Getting straight to the point.. i was traveling past a newly made park this morning.. it was busy.. so many people on the sidewalk enjoying the new green space in their locality... but the eyesore was the litter strewn all over..

i am not an Environmentalist.. but i respect nature and i do not litter.. it was absolutely shameful to see what had become of it.. and this shoddy treatment is not isolated to only this park..

As a child i have traveled across the Chetpet bridge many times.. it overlooks a marsh.. in between the water, stands a lone tree.. i used to claim it as my island.. even today it brings the memories of my taking ownership of it.. it always lasts the half minute ride across..

i wonder what memories the sight of the Cooum may bring to the older citizens of our city.. it is a well known fact that it had crystal clear water.. and today it is pure drainage..

a particular type of flower.. blooms outside my house every April.. it is known as Konna Poo (Golden Shower).. beautiful delicate yellow flowers hanging down like a bunch of grapes.. its scientific name is a little funny though.."Cassia fistula".. the point is.. the flower is an essential part of the Vishu celebrations every April.. and it is during that period, it is in full bloom..

as it is highly sought after at that time.. hawkers mint profits selling them with Zero cost.. source.. the tree outside my house.. in a rather barbaric fashion they break and bruise the tree in their attempt to get as many flowers possible.. even if they are high up in the branches.. does it not remind u of the story of the boy and the tree??

very recently, a fire raged in a ecologically sensitive marshland.. no one seemed to realise the importance of the damage caused...

the solution?? so many model states and nations have set precedents to the preservation and cleanliness of their environment.. every Indian easily quotes the example of Singapore.. but is it not easier to follow the routine we follow in our homes??? i don't think people throw the garbage inside their bedrooms, nor do they piss on their walls.. a little sense of responsibility and a good administration is the only way out..

till the day any reforms happen.. we can each continue doing whatever little we can.. after all Mother Nature is not called so, just like that...