> I watched the clouds arrive, pile their black masses against the black > mountains, and dump their bumper crops of rain on the vivid green > muskegs. I read my way slowly through the contents of the town library. > I walked endlessly. I went to work. I came home. I watched the clock > change. I experimented with the sound of my voice.
Sounds perfect. First mail I read this morning and I can't help contrasting it with my life now. I waited for more than an hour for a bus in pouring rain standing almost on the middle of the road because the footpaths, or what passes for them, were inundated. >From the bus stop, my workplace is a good 20 minute walk. This was made quite interesting with potholes submerged under a foot of water, and random cyclists deciding to speed just to see how many pedestrians they could shower on and share their childlike glee. Somehow, I didn't feel like pinching their cheeks. And then there was a motorcyclist who too decided to use the pavement to speed through. I then experimented with my voice (which by then was screaming inside my head) and let out choice curses in Hindi. I think instinctively, you think in the language you are most comfortable with, forgetting that I was in Madduland. The man stopped for a second, drawn by the universal tone of abuse. And screamed choice curses in Tamil. Quite an edifying interchange -- shows how well we as a nation understand each other despite our linguistic differences. And now finally, I am here at work, and have decided to do the following: a. Become a dictator and ban all two and four wheelers and force everyone to walk. b. Start a movement to make all pedestrians in India walk in the middle of the road. That's the only part which is not flooded and given that I pay all my taxes, I am entitled to use it as much as that silly guy in a pink silk shirt inside that blue Innova. Had to vent this out. And btw, my workplace just lost electricity. Hurrah.
