If we were having coffee, I would tell you to come over to my new home. We will enjoy a cuppa and catch up on some gossip. That was my plan, but this week has been too dramatic for me. It did start off well. It had been raining heavily since last week due to which I kept postponing my grocery shopping till I reached Saturday and there was nothing left in the house. Braving the heavy crowd which is typical at our Supermarket, I replenished my grocery. As I came home, I realised I needed to get the wheat flour. Since, I have shifted to a new area, I struggled to get my shopping perfect. But as luck would have it, it was smoother than I imagined.
On Sunday, we stayed indoors as it was raining heavily. Meanwhile, we watched the rescue of the Thai children stuck in a cave. I was amazed with the systematic way, the divers and their teams went about doing what is meant to be done. And the result is that the children were saved along with their coach.
Incessant rains on Sunday was followed by heavier rains on Monday. Schools were declared shut, the husband couldn’t go to work. I was grumbling as I work from home and I had no excuses. As the day progressed, the condition worsened. By night, we had been plunged into darkness as the power was shut off. All we could hear was the rain battering our balcony roof. Tuesday morning we realised, this is not normal. I have lived in Mumbai all my life. I have been stuck in heavy Mumbai rains many times and frankly, unlike the panting news reporters, I do not even bat an eyelid at it. But, it was different this time. The rain continued and the water levels rose. By now, our mobile phone batteries were dead. There was no phone network. The children grew restless.
And so it continued till Wednesday when the rain finally stopped. But now, the water just lay there. The whole place looking like a lake. Husband waded through murky water and a prayer to go to work on Wednesday. Everyone speaks about the spirit of Mumbai. But the truth is, we were just worried for our jobs and our leaves getting wasted.
There was no more fresh drinking water, no milk and eggs, no bread. No essentials as the delivery trucks couldn’t reach our place. Thursday brought back some relief. School and college reopened. The husband could go to work. But I could not resume working as there was no electricity in our area. The waters had not receded. The power station was switched off as a precautionary measure. Thursday also let me speak to my parents and my sister as the cell network resumed in spurts.
On Thursday, as we got the newspaper, we realised that all the children were saved from the Thai cave. There was a sense of relief and happiness. There was only a small corner dedicated to floods in our area. Sadly, Priyanka Chopra and Justin Bieber’s engagement covered more columns in the paper than our plight. The apathy of the authorities is criminal. People struggled, starved, waded in water, but survived. On their own. With no help from anybody. I pray we never have to face a situation like the Thai cave rescue, but would we ever get saved if such a thing happens here.
Finally, on Friday, everything had a tinge of normalcy to it. The infrastructure is limping back to normalcy. We survived a natural disaster. It was not all gloom and doom though. The kids played with each other as there was no phone they could hide behind. My cousin and brother’s families came over and we had a gala time playing cards, cooking and endless cups of tea. The unexpected break was good and we connected just like old times, with no phone or TV to interrupt.
Here are some of the reports.
Mumbai Rains: It’s a long swim home for Vasai after its 26/7
2 days later, Vasai-Virar still waterlogged
So, how was your week?
Hot cup of Kaapi 