ONE FINE DAY.....?

Venice - the sinking city....Venice - the water-logged city. Isn't that what people say?
Well, Our good old chennai seems to want those titles for a while... This again reminds
me of the lines 'water water everwhere, not a drop to drink...' by Coleridge (am sorry am always quoting some poet...). Maybe it should be 'water water everywhere, not a drop that doesn't stink...' (and that isn't dirty brown)Well, atleast Coleridge was under opium when he wrote those words...i don't think i'm under anything of that sort, maybe just some water that i may have accidentally taken in! Ok...i didn't do that!Well, for those of you who don't know, Chennai's having a very very funny weather pattern this year...meaning, the cyclones and the 'depressions' which are always predicted by the metoerological department every year, are ACTUALLY taking place this year...wierd huh? Blame it on the tsunami, or on some silly positions of stars and the sun, or on the beginning of the end of the world......Hell, the fact that chennai has recorded the maximum amount of rainfall in the shortest period of time in history remains fatefully unchanged.

Its funny how residents of this city keep complaining that there's just not enough rain
ever, and that the Rain God is just not showing mercy ( my grandmom keeps saying it..).
Its true in a way. He's still not showing mercy...but this time its no-mercy to the 'excess rain' factor. Broken dams, and over-flowing Cauvery river -how long is it since we even heard of such things? I guess all the jokes of Chennai having just 3 seasons - mild summer, summer, and peak summer - just don't make sense to today's scenario! Hell's been pouring down since 26.10.05 afternoon...And it stopped close to 2 hours back... which is say about 9.30pm on 27.10.05. And its been CONTINUOS. No breaks...and almost at constant intensity. Wow, is this chennai? We're all surprised.....

I'll tell you my side of the story. Funny though it may sound now, i assure you that it
was one of my worst experiences ever, and has made me realise that scorching heat is way
better than unleashing rains. Atleast in a place like Chennai.

When i was going to bed on 26th night, after studying very scantily for my university practical exam to be held on 27th, i said a small prayer - that the rain should stop -PLEASE! All i remember after that, is my grandmom's wailing voice...telling me that all colleges and schools are closed cuz of the rain. But wait a minute, i have a UNIVERSITY exam, i have to go. Just imagine, she hadn't even boiled milk or anything thinking I'm definitely not going anywhere! Aaah...i was going mad. It was Cold like hell, and my teeth were clattering - though i think that was more out of nervousness after i saw my terribly flooded street. I was ready in a jiffy and by this time, my cousin who was wandering in slumber-land, had woken up and had taken a good look at the street, and even estimated the water level! We decided i had to go, cuz i had no choice...and he said he'd drop me on his bike. So we left - i was wearing a blue wind-sheeter with a cap and an umbrella and he was wearing a football jersey (they're water proof!) (and after seeing him wear it, i had this great urge to play football in the rain!), his helmet and was
holding an umbrella. When we got down, we realised how grossly we had under-estimated the
level of water. There was no way a bike could get out without getting water into its silencer and coming to a stop hardly 10 feet away from its point of ignition.Cars were stranded in the water. The only way to get to the bus stop was to WALK. So, we 'waded' into the water...literally. And suddenly, i got transported to the year 1912...it felt like i was on the titanic! Hell, it was like a 1000 needles were pricking my skin everywhere. COLD (very very cold), BROWN, STINKY water. The water at first reached my thighs. There was no point in turning back, now that we were already royally in some sort of a swamp (actually, swamps never have water to such heights...but i think they're as dirty!). We walked, my cousin held my hand and was literally pulling me forward... cuz a) i was damn cold and b) i was scared to wits end. As we walked on, or waded on, floated on....whatever, the water got deeper...and by the time we were half way across the street, the water reached my waist.A very important point to be noted is that we were walking in the middle of the street...And at this juncture, we heard some sound behind
us...sort of like a car or something....SHIT!!! It was a tata sumo!! I screamed... that was the first time i realised i actually did have a real high pitched, girlish, scream. We forced ourselves towards the side...and the merciless driver drove fast...what a pig. And so the ripples came onto us! And for a minute, the water was even higher! Damn, that was lousy. Life had to be so unfair! It was getting late...so we walked faster. As we reached the end of the street, the water became shallow...thank heavens for that, or thank the drainage system dammit. So we got to the main road, which also had a considerable amount of water, but seemed like nothing compared to what we had been through. My bus came...and didn't stop for a while cuz i was dressed like a clown...then i removed my cap and waved...and aaaah, the driver recognised me! I told my cousin to get home safely...i was damn worried for him, and i got onto the bus...

END OF PART ONE!!!

Whatever happened during the bus journey, i will not elaborate... but i kept thinking of what the hell i would have done if my cousin wasn't there, and whether he got home alright. Basically, i didn't study. The vision in my mind of the morning's happenings, and the sight my eyes were digesting... of a devasted city just didn't allow room for any crappy cell biology theories to get in. We reached college...and i got off at my lab block. All my classmates were huddled in a group...and most of us were wet till the waist, so YIIIPPPEEEE i wasn't alone and everyone had a tale to tell! We waited a long time for our profs to come... but no one did, and so...we just assumed there would be no exam. Our assumptions usually back fire really badly, but not today...since everything from morning seemed to be going the opposite way. Our exam got postponed.To 29.10.05. And may the vice-chancellor of Anna uni Mr. D.Vishwanathan rot in hell for making the announcement at 9.00am instead of 7... We had to leave college. Another elaaborate procedure which did nothing more than get us DRENCHED from head to toe... now the previous wetness just had to blend with the fresh dirty water! So, after alot of cursing and laughing, we boarded our buses again...and i started to panic...thinking of re-doing the whole wading process! But this time there was something else that was nagging... i was thinking of "Anniyan". Anyone who saw it, wud remember the electrocution scene!Not like in a chair and all...but a live wire in the water... How come i never thought abt it in the morning? I was too pre-occupied. How come i thought abt it now? I was even more scared (if that was possible) than i was before. I got off the bus at the edge of the same street that i had left abt 4 hours back...but now, the water was flowing out of the street! For a wild moment, i thought i was at the marina beach...damn! I plunged into the ocean of garbage...YUCK! I tried to shut my mind from any thoughts...it was more difficult cuz i was waking alone! I walked...and this mega-huge truck was coming in the opposite direction! AAAAAAH... But he was a little considerate, kind of slowed down...but hell, the ripples still raised the water level! There were a number of people on the road...one told me to be careful with the 'pallam' or portholes...I felt a rush of victory when i saw the green-grey gate of my flat...aaah, the feeling!HOME!!! I instinctively looked up, and my cousin was looking down...I ran through the gates...a dirty girl dressed in something that was blue in the morning...I was dripping wet... each inch of my body covered in water.... who cares. I was HOME. Thasall...!

Reached home at 11.30am....Even after jumping into a pair of jeans, a t-shirt + a full hand shirt (that once belonged to my bro), i was shivering...and for the first time in the history of my stay in chennai, i wore SOCKS on a cold day... There was no electricity...it had been purposefully cut off to prevent electrocution... which left us all in a very jobless state. The rest of the day was lazy, but fun...cooking and dirtying the kitchen for my poor grandmom to clean! Once u're out of the mess, u can enjoy it!

The on-going sms joke in chennai says... in the USA, they had Katrina, Rita and Wilma...
in chennai, its going to be Kuppama, Karupamma and chellaathaa!! LOL...

A rainy day...It made me realise alot you know. The first thing being that natural calamities (like floods) are the worst things that can ever happen...THEY SUCK. Second- sometimes u wonder wat the hell u'd do without a few people. Third - Even though things seem hilarious at the end of the day ( for example, i thot my cousin looked like an astronaut with his helmet...cuz he wasn't riding a bike, but walking/wading), u can never ever forget the deep shit u were in! One wrong move...and heaven knows where the devil i'd be.

That brings me to the end of this very eventful post. I just checked the water-level outside
(its 1.16 am now). And i can see the road....yessss!!! The water's draining out, the
rains have stopped, but the wind's blowing hard... One last thing... anybody who says
chennai's suffering from acute water problems is going to have dung stuffed down his/her
thraot..........................
Do you believe a word of what you just read? Difficult ain't it? ;-)

Well, the photographs at the beginning of the post...were taken from my balcony hardly 16hours ago... am off to sleep, and all i hope for is that i should NOT dream of the days happenings.... Nite all...

Yours "i've had one hell of a day"ly
Signing off.....