Defying the Raingods

Another dreadfully dark and dull day. Yet surprisingly, we had a full house – 23 brave soldiers of Lokhandwala Laughing Club, Garden Number Four, defying the rain gods to mark their presence at the Chinese Hut. All the usual and unusual suspects were there, including Ram Shankar Shukla, Kiran Sajjan and Sushma Gupta. After all, for how many days can anybody remain closeted indoors, glued to the TV, watching some godforsaken godman ranting on while everybody else talks of the Commonwealth Games' loot and Pakistan cricketers making a pile? A time comes when it makes more sense to step out of the house and smell the roses.
Besides, it’s such an adventure battling the morning breeze with a limp umbrella while negotiating puddles swirling with dog poop (hopefully!) and not getting splashed in the bargain, every time a school bus rushes past. You meet familiar faces on the way, but nobody wants to recognize anybody. Everybody concentrates on the road ahead, studying the potholes, banana peels, floating plastic and disembowelled rats pecked at by wet crows. And when you finally count your steps into the Garden, you discover that all the men’s bums are wet! (Seriously, why are only the men’s bums wet on rainy mornings?) There’s no point saying you sat on a damp Garden bench by mistake. We’ve heard that.
On a lighter note, shouldn’t something be done about these rains? It has never been so bad for so long – that too, so late in the year. It’s about September now. If clouds can be seeded to bring rainfall, surely they can be unseeded (if not de-seeded). Life would be so much easier then – no lazy mornings, no ranting babas, no floating dog poop, no disembowelled rats, no wet bums, no caterpillars, centipedes, earthworms… We can get back to exercising out in the open, bathed in sunshine and hopefully, even smell the roses.

Bhaswati Bose says:
These are precisely the reasons why I am not venturing out. Am waiting for the sunshine and the fragrance of flowers around the Garden, instead of the damp rotten smell prevaling now. But then, the temptation to meet everybody is also there. So may be will make it tomorrow if it dosen't rain heavily. (Renu, please note, you better be there).
--Bhaswati

Renu Babani says:
Yes Ma'am, I shall be there. And looks like you too will attend. Well, regarding the fragrances, I beg to differ. What fragrances are you talking about? Chanel 5 emanating from the stagnant waters? Or Prophecy from the dead insects/animals etc? But I do agree it is about time for some sunshine, because I am certain everyone is fed up with the non-stop rains. By the way, missing the sweet melodious music in the mornings. So hopefully, Mr Arora will come tomorrow and we shall have the usual music.
--Renu