Watered Down!

The skies were attempting to crush the earth! Yes, that is precisely how the atmosphere was as I stepped out of home this morning. The envelope of clouds was so dark that there was no semblance of morning. An ominous reddish tinge all over the sky added to the effect. And the air was still, hot, humid and oppressive. And then suddenly it all came apart. And cascades of water poured down. I managed to keep myself slightly protected using an umbrella. However the elements had a counter to that. A vicious wind got into the foray and nearly blew the umbrella off. Riding on this wind, the rain changed direction to an almost incredible semi horizontal angle such that I had to hold the umbrella in front of me in order to avoid getting wet! The arrival of the bus saved me from a thorough drenching though I was already uncomfortably damp. And the air conditioner was working overtime, adding to my miseries.
Such were the circumstances in which my mind drifted back to my other encounters with the rain. Back in Pune the rains had a sadistic streak and tended to second-guess me. So the skies usually opened up when I departed from home and ensured I had my second ablution for the day. And just as I arrived close to my destination, voila! Blue skies and a bright sun mocking me. No wonder people speculated about whether I had driven my bike into the river or something!
Mumbai rains are, well Mumbai rains! They need to be experienced. One might be in possession of the latest in umbrellas and other rain gear, but these stand an ice cubes chance in hell against the fury of the rain. It literally pours down with savage vigor, as if trying to clean up the physique and the mind of the city and its people. And it keeps pouring for days on end with tenacious zeal. Soon roads resemble rivers and there is absolutely no way one can avoid stepping into the swirling copious mass. And let there be no illusion about whether the rain cools the climate. Simply because it doesn’t. So it usually means one is always in a ‘wet’ state of existence, either due to the rain or ones own perspiration in the extreme heat and humidity.
So am I at the mercy of the elements? It certainly seems like it for now. However as Guns n Roses crooned… ‘Nothing lasts forever…Even cold November (July?) Rain’