There i was in uncle's house. I had to stay there for what i initially believed to be a very long time. The Rain had flexed its bicep once again bringing the entire city to a standstill. Incessant rains had left the city flooded, its people floored. Terror were doing their bit by blowing up and killing Mumbai.. In a bad mood i was i d reckoned (Shortly afterwards. My Cosmic take on life had come to haunt me once again and with it came indifference, and thence as Mr S puts it I became more of a vegetable for the next two to three hours giving me ample time to reminisce and do other thinking stuff, night accompanied by rain providing the perfect ambience for thought).The day had started out looking night due to the very dense cover of dark rain clouds.. There was lightning which illuminated the clouds like light bulbs on a dark terrace which flickered due to the poor supply of electricity. I wanted to take a ride on my bike that very moment. The very sombre weather and the sparse human prescence on the road proved too great a temptation to overcome. It could have been my bike that convinced me to ride her that day.. May be she knew that i wasn't going to ride her for quite a long time after that (A day was a long time between me and my bike considering we love each other. I see 'S' flexing his eye brows considering how poorly maintained the thing is!!).What a ride it was. With the dark sky in the background and chill wind blowing against the face, i rode, rode like i v never ridden before, or after.. rode with all the happiness in the world without anyone between me, my bike and the road.After the joy ride, i was to head out to work. A busy day was in store. We were operating on a special project during that time, one with deadlines impossible to.. hey but that is the kind of work i would love wouldn't I? where is the fun in others? I started on my bike again for work, counting as usual on it to deliver me to my destination on time and safe even as i had started late and even as the road was slippery due to the drizzle which would eventually mature into the monstrous incessant rain..Destination reached and on time..
Even as we worked, chipping away at the huge workload, there was the rain outside bearing a constant spectator to whatever was going on in the city that day. It was lunch when we had realised that the rain was pouring down like hell and that it had not stopped for a whole five hours then. The rest of the day passed without much change.. It had been nine hours now and we were beginning to feel really concerned. Similar Rains a couple of days back had left all the city drains brimming and they could take no more it seemed. The entire city was flooded. Water anywhere u could look. My collegues - women constituting half of them, were being flooded with phone calls from their dear ones warning them to start early as water levels were beginning to raise drastically in most parts of the city and the roads had become inaccessible. Even my mom called a couple of times. I did n worry though. I had my trusted bike with me and asked my mother to start without me to home.. (she was close by to my workplace).One by one the women began to depart as their near and dear had come to pick them up and for those who did not come the guys took it upon them to drive them safely to their homes. I was of course the last to leave after making sure that every one was secured. I bid a friend of mine adieu. He had no bike but his house was nearby and he could reach safely. I went down to the open parking lot where my bike was parked. There it stood like a warrior drenched in the sweat of battle. The rain had stopped for a breather. I caressed it gently, to wipe the sweat of it and got in position to ride her. The start lever i released and i kicked with the anticipation that it would start without any hassle.. The battle with the rain had gotten the better of it i d supposed. I tried my best to bring her back to life but i couldn't, not that day. I was forsaken, so was she.I d felt totally shocked then realising that i had no where to go then. Water was everywhere (and not a drop to drink - I was rather dehydrated trying to kickstart my bike) and public / private transport were only remotely available. It was then when lightning struck and i realised that uncle's house was very nearby the work place. Though it wasn't a walkable distance i could manage to get there via private transport after getting robbed of my whatever money i had. I had a hard time making my mind up to leave my bike behind, we had never spent a night apart before that. But i had to do it for my sake, for our sake.And there I was in uncle's house.Uncle's nephew had come over to keep me company. I after much effort, managed to get some sleep, not good sleep though.The dawn had come and the rain had stopped its lashing of the city. But then there was still water everywhere.After some anxious moments as to whether we would work that day i got a message from boss .. who is a coook by the way.. advising us to stay at motherland and worse - he was trying to rhyme, in the process!!! He did a fairly good job to cheer me up though. Then after that call there was still this small task of getting me bike back. Considering i was totally put off on thinking what would have happened to my bike during the night, i kept constantly bickering with my uncle and aunt, trying to convince them that i should go and get my bike even though the city was completely flooded.. This is where came the unlikely hero. The man who d always sport a smile. Friendship to be found at a future point in time in the tale. (considering time to be linear of course.)
