Monsoon Stories

Swirling slush at the Garden gate

Trees have been crashing down, building walls collapsing, cars getting caught in cave-ins and mudslides, kids cheating death with overflowing drains and sewers, dead rats floating on flooded streets… One day of heavy rainfall has caused such havoc in Mumbai.
Today we got a breather. It did not rain so heavily in the morning and consequently, the turnout for the exercises was better than yesterday’s. Still, there were some glaring absences, each carrying an individual monsoon story.
Kiran Prakash, for one, had a harrowing time negotiating his way home (in Malad) after the torrential downpour yesterday morning. ‘I don’t think I’ll be able to make it every day as it is very risky driving through the blinding rain,’ he said, explaining his absence today.
Likewise, Siba Prasad Maitra is not taking chances in the foul weather after suffering a serious viral attack last week-end. He says he has recovered to a major extent (‘the fever has gone, my throat feels better’), but

Those who made it this morning

the physical weakness persists.
There are others like Nahid Khan who cannot afford to get wet after a cataract operation last Sunday. Banoo Apa is still under the weather and so is Bhaswati Bose. Bijoy Gupta has the late-night football matches (of the FIFA World Cup) as an excuse to ‘feel out of sorts’ in the morning and remain indoors.
But there are some positive stories as well. Karuna Waghmare has been ailing with some severe (and complex) age-related issues and yet, she can be seen all alone, walking stick in hand, feeling her way slowly through treacherous potholes and swirling muck in the morning.
Arun Patil is another. In spite of a crippling handicap -- he is without a leg and takes 45 minutes just to ‘dress up’ – he reports to the Garden on the dot for the exercises. This, after stopping on the way to pick Rukhsana Khan, a paraplegic, on his scooter.
And then there is Shekhawat. Whatever may be said of him, he is no spring chicken. Yet, he is the only one among us who can be trusted to be present in the Garden before time and flag the exercises every morning – come hell or high water.
We need to be inspired by them.

Lt Col Angad Singh (rtd):
One day's rain has shown how ready we were. Everything went out of gear and we are at the mercy of nature. But this is not surprising. Everywhere it is the same story. It amply proves that God does exist, at least in India. It is nice to know that a few bravehearts have taken courage to be present for today's routine despite the heavy odds. Cheers to them.

Bihari Milwani:
How come Bijoy Gupta was playing football when it was raining heavily -- that too in the night?