Adventures in crater Mumbai
Updated On: 29 July, 2024 04:34 AM IST | Mumbai | Fiona Fernandez
Our sutradhaars, Sir PM and Lady Flora emerge after last week’s downpour, to throw light on how the city, and most importantly its civic gods, fared when it came to checking their report cards
Representation Pic
Pheroze, that’s a lot of rain gear that you’ve lugged around just for a simple walk around the neighbourhood,” Lady Flora commented at the unusually large haversack that her friend had brought along for their usual midnight walk. Sir PM had also realised by now that it was a lot of rain wear. “You’re right, my Lady. I shouldn’t have…perhaps, I’ll request the kind Reverend at the Cathedral if I could keep back some of it, and carry along just the essentials, like the umbrella and poncho. We cannot take risks, after what we experienced not so long ago,” Sir PM warned his friend, clearly scarred after the heavy downpour that the city witnessed, bringing it to a standstill on most of those days.
“You are right, Pheroze. In fact, I should be wise and carry an umbrella at least. We cannot say with this fickle weather. It’s beginning to resemble London, but a lot less romantic and picturesque. Over here, it’s a battlefield to get even from the Cathedral to my pedestal, as I realised the other day. Silly of me to decide to have my cuppa at the nearby Irani café; I had to retreat midway when things got out of control, and standing under the awning wasn’t really helping me or my pure white attire. Never again; tea can wait,” she smiled. “But this isn’t about me; so, tell all, Pheroze. What did your sources report back on those very rainy days?”
Sir PM in his full rain gear looked up to the skies, and began, “Well, as usual the weather folks got it wrong with the warnings. I’m done keeping track of the red, yellow, green and whatnot colour alerts that I keep hearing about! Just get the data right and in good time with all your scientific tracking machines, so people don’t venture out and save themselves from this trauma. Most people were stranded en route to their workplaces, and schoolchildren were also inconvenienced by the time the civic gods decided to call it a holiday. This was repeated on several occasions during this recent wet spell. My heart went out to all those who had to wrestle their way on delayed, and thus, overcrowded trains. This is a baffling annual scenario that gets played out year after year. As soon as the trains begin to crawl or halt on flooded tracks, the city is brought to its knees. Why, you might ask. That’s because a majority rely on “this lifeline” for their daily commute.”
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