Its been a year since the Mumbai floods, and I wouldn’t be wrong in saying that the city has been having a stroke of ill luck ever since….
The earliest memory I have of that fateful day is irritability. I was at the testing stage of a large project which was blocking my transfer to the other department. I wanted the testing to complete asap so that I could shift my work and get started in the new role. When I learnt that some of the ppl had not come due to the rains, I was really irritated. Around noon, as I trudged to the lab in ankle deep water, I actually cursed the housekeeping guys for not cleaning the drains! Little did I know that the fault wouldn’t have been theirs entirely…. By two, water levels were rising and we recieved word that offices all over mumbai were closing down early. Some ppl from my office left then, some at three, but a majority were going to leave at four – the official time for an early exit due to the rains…. As I left my building, three minutes were all it took to get drenched (I had an umbrella and was walking under an awning!!!!)
But I can’t thank God enough for his kindness on us. Those two days of no water and no electricity seems almost a blessing compared to what others had to go through….
As I read the papers afterward, they were full of stories about tapriwalas who who gave chai to the stranded travellers all night, of college students who helped ppl get on roofs of buses, of men who helped others jump on roofs of one vehicle to another and get on safer grounds…. and thats when I started writing my next story, based on 26th July 2005 – the day that changed thousands of lives. Its been almost a year now, and I have not yet finished it. Last month, I planned to finish it and announce it today, but even the best laid plans have a way of going awry. So the release is delayed, but I put up this post today to pray for the departed souls, their struggling families and give a chance to each one of us who survived the day to count our blessings.