Monsoons Ahoy!

A week of searing heat, a second skin of sweat, bottles of deodorant, dollops of sun screen, and finally there is some respite, from all that and more, in the form of drops of water sifted down from the heavens…yes, at long last the monsoons are here in Delhi!

Last night when I went to sleep, it was to the gushes of soft winds hailing in the wispy threads of white clouds, and the sweet smell of wet earth wafting through my window. Today morning when I woke up, it was to the sounds of thunder, and pelting rain…sigh! The most beautiful sounds a Delhiite would want to hear in the month of July!
Well…a delightful start to the day! I floated through the daily routine of getting ready for office, only today, I had a huge smile on my face and a happy song on my lips…I mean the weather was beautiful!!!
Said a cheery ta-ta to mum and dad…opened my umbrella, and with a bounce in my step I started out, loving the cool wind blowing across my face, building plans in my mind, envisioning them as I walked till my bus stop...

aaaaand THIS is where the happy part begins to fade...and the pasted smile on my face turns into a scowl!

As soon as I reached the bend, all my air castles crumbled to shards of glass! The sight that greeted me was of a huge expanse of flowing water…muddy water being beaten up by the cars and trucks and auto rickshaws trying to get somewhere, anywhere…away from the river running through the narrow lanes of Punjabi bagh. With the road submerging under the rising stream, all I could see was the pedestrian footpath (rarely taken by me, what with the open manholes, urine laced walls, overgrown shrubs…its just safer to walk on the road u see!).
A moment of contemplation, and I decide to take the (ughh) footpath (had to keep the shoes from getting wet!)…about 50 meters of trying to keep the umbrella over my head, my hands away from the walls, and my hair outta my eyes…and I come to a screeching halt as I realize that I can no longer continue walking…there’s water everywhere!!! I look to the left and right, hoping for nothing really, just a normal panic reaction…and then decide to brave it…I take a deep yogic breath and jump into the water, clenching my jaw as I wade through to the divider in the middle of the road (shoes, socks, jeans…soaked to the thread!).
Ignoring the smirks pasted on the faces of leering men in cars, I shrug my shoulders proudly and forward march (forward slosh would be more like it) on the thin strip of concrete to the bus stop, already giving up on saving my clothes from getting drenched…luckily my bus came in soon!

By this time, im more than a little pissed off with Delhi’s infrastructure, or the lack of it…I open the window in frustration, let the light rain drops splash on my face and calm down my angst against our dysfunctional government.
Now that I am comfortably settled, I see that the bus conductor is not! He is worried that the bus is running late, and the rain induced traffic jams are not helping! So he stops the bus every few seconds (by tapping a 5 rupee coin on the glass window, an indicator to the driver to smash down the brakes!!), and bundles in as many rain trampled human bodies as he can…he ushers the people already inside to move forward and make room for others, in the politest way he knows how “Bhaisaab! O bhen*$%^, aagey chalo bey!!!” (verbatim) …delhiites! always polite and helpful! :)

A while later, and i manage to block out all noise and go back to gazing out, taking in the view of dark clouds doling out rain, green trees dancing (yes, we still have a few of them here), happy to be bathed in the shimmer of coolness…and my gleaming castles beginning to take shape again, rising through in the misty skies …