Getting to the office today was hard. First of all the rain seemed at its worst. After a Sunday spent lazing around at home, doing some writing but not much, getting some pictures of my Kerala sojourn organized, and I do not even step out to get my feet wet. It is traumatic getting all wet this Monday morning in the heavy 110-mm rain. Why can’t I just laze around the television like I did yesterday? This is only one-nineth of what we had on July 26 last year when we had 900-mm. But no consolation here, most of Bombay island is still under water, for reasons read my blogpost “Warm Age Cometh” below.
I do not own a car and depend a lot on rickshaws for travel. When I got out of home, I had to wait around fifteen minutes to get one of those ugly, beetle-shaped, hunched contraptions that are my chariot, boat, and valiant steed. Boat, because of the water, steed only a steed can ride over the potholes. I guess that vile breed called rickshaw drivers have had a little too much to drink and are hallucinating about dancing nymphets of Bollywood. Never mind.
Finally I board a bus and come to Turbhe from where I catch another of those ugly contraptions to the office. None are around. Some beetles are driving past, but their drivers have their noses in the air. No buses around too and the rain is trickling down my umbrella, and my shoe is full of water and clothes are all so wet that I can wring a bucketful of water from them.
Then I meet a philosophical beetle owner into whose contraption I jump in ahead of the others. There is a bit of jostling but I am safely inside. The philosopher, beetle-owner says, “Too much trouble, what will man do in such weather. Somebody has to do something.” Philosopher, or do-gooder, without him I would not have reached the office today.
Tags: Kerala, blog, Bollywood, nymphet, Turbhe, Bombay
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