For the past two years, Chennai has been experiencing a refresher course of the cyclones from ten years ago - flooded roads, numerous accidents, petrified traffic cops, delighted floaty worms, sodden citizens and large scale chaos - quite the reminder.
You'd think all this would entice the 'city elders' to leap into action to repair and prevent. The repair consisted of filling the numerous mud holes with the very latest in road maintenance material - MUD.
Yes, yes I know what you're thinking; but I say now all ye skeptics, there is logic behind everything that the wise elders do. The mud is eco-friendly. The mud is easy to clean. The mud flows ever so beautifully to cover the open drains... two birds, one stone.
(Dripping) Sarcasm apart, Chennai doesn't need earth shattering rainstorms to panic. Today, it rained for about 10 minutes. In that short span of time, our wondrous city had turned itself into a virtual water park! No no, not magic... just hideous town planning. While driving through flooded roads, bumper to bumper traffic and quacking schoolchildren (asking for an early death), I was AMAZED at the rapid change. One minute it was sunny with everyone their usual insane self, the next it was... THIS.
'Why?' I wondered. Can the elders not see the effects of their senile inactivity? Do they not notice the chaos over their folded palms when they zip past in their motorcade of a 1000 vehicles? Do they not realise the sunglasses are doing nothing to plug potholes?
I had to stop the in depth analysis long enough to give an exceedingly dirty, snaky look to a man in an SUV trying to edge himself into a space clearly meant for a two-wheeler. Not that I have a problem with people who dream - it just hurts my heart when 'things' hurt my car.
Finally I got out of the mess and was swiftly on my way home. Or at least that's what I thought. A group of schoolboys decided to curb my enthusiasm by standing in the middle of the road, practicing the fine art of deafness. I thought it was instinctively understood that the universal meaning of a blaring horn right behind your ass means 'GET OUTTA THE WAY U BRAINLESS HALF SIZED PEDESTRIAN'!!!
But I guess I was wrong. The right sign for that message was splashing them with not a small amount of puddle water. Hmmmm...
This time it was an accident. Next time, it'll be conscious.
Ten minute rains bring out the devil in me.
2 comments:
love this!! esp the sunglassesbit...evull :)
Rains! Rains, I tell you!
Chennai and rains! Last two days have left me terrified!
But well, coming from Bombay, they shouldn't - its more like I walked out of the monsoons then Oct heat in Bombay and then here straight bang into rains!
And it had happily slipped my mind that Chennai does have winter rains when I packed my bags to land here.
But, water park! :) And ten times cleaner water park than the monsoons of where I come from.
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